ĐÀ NẴNG (Biz Hub) — Slovakia will boost co-operation with Đà Nẵng in tourism, information technology (IT) and software, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico said in a meeting during his visit to the city on July 19.

The Slovakian PM said the central city and Việt Nam were seen as peaceful and safe tourist destinations by Slovakian tourists, as favourite destinations in Turkey and Egypt were facing instability and security issues.

"Đà Nẵng has a long coastline and is an ideal destination for Slovakian tourists. I have witnessed the development of Việt Nam since I visited the country in 2008," Fico said.

"However, direct air routes from Slovakia to Đà Nẵng and other cities of Việt Nam are yet to be established to facilitate for tourism development and co-operation. We are also eyeing streamlining of procedures for tourist visa applications to enter Slovakia, as Việt Nam plans to exempt visa fees for Slovakia tourists visiting the country," he said.

The PM also said Slovakia was home to the Vietnamese community and he would urge Slovakian people to visit Đà Nẵng, which has ideal and pristine beach destinations.

He said FPT, an IT group of Việt Nam, has been working in IT development in Slovakia for years.

The Slovakia leader also visited the FPT Complex, the largest IT service centre in the central region built to contribute $1 billion to FPT’s software exports revenue by 2020, and which contributed 37 per cent of the city’s software export revenue in 2015 ($50 million).

Chairman of the central city’s People’s Committee Huỳnh Đức Thọ said the city hoped to boost co-operation with Slovakia in tourism, port services, software and high-tech, besides manufacturing and human resource training, based on the long-term friendship between Việt Nam and Slovakia.

He said Đà Nẵng had signed a memorandum of understanding on co-operation and friendship with Kosice City, Slovakia, to boost investment, trade, education and tourism between the two cities in 2015, on the occasion of the 65^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Việt Nam and Slovakia.

Bilateral trade between Đà Nẵng and Slovakia reached a modest US$200,000 in garments in 2015. Slovakia is currently the largest Central European investor in Việt Nam.
In 2014, FPT Software acquired RWE IT Slovakia – a subsidiary of the RWE Group in Eastern Europe – to strengthen its global delivery capabilities in Europe, as well as to turn RWE IT Slovakia into a future FPT Slovakia, a member of the FPT family. — VNS