Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính held talks with Chancellor of Austria Sebastian Kurz late Thursday from Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính held talks on the phone with Chancellor of Austria Sebastian Kurz late Thursday, during which he affirmed that Việt Nam hopes to further deepen the close and trustful ties with Austria in all fields.

The Austrian Chancellor said that Việt Nam is a trustworthy and important partner of Austria in Southeast Asia, and underlined the great potential for the development of the Việt Nam-Austria partnership.

Both sides agreed to resume the exchange of delegations and high-level meetings soon, while reinforcing cooperation mechanisms, including the Việt Nam-Austria Joint Committee on economic and investment cooperation, heading to the celebration of the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties in 2022.

Regarding collaboration in economy, trade and investment, PM Chính proposed that the Austrian Government create favourable conditions for Vietnamese aquatic products to enter the Austrian market, soon approve the Việt Nam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), and urge the European Commission to remove the yellow card on Việt Nam’s fisheries sector.

The Austrian Chancellor said that his country was willing to support Việt Nam in strengthening the partnership with the EU and work for the removal of the yellow card.

Over collaboration in the COVID-19 fight, the Vietnamese PM suggested that Austria transfer its surplus vaccines to Việt Nam and cooperate in transferring production technologies for COVID-19 vaccine and treatment drugs. PM Chính also expressed hope that Austria would urge the COVAX Facility to speed up the allocation of vaccines to Việt Nam in the future.

The two leaders also discussed the South China Sea (called East Sea in Việt Nam) issue, highlighting that maintaining maritime and aviation freedom and security and peace in the South China Sea is the common interest of the international community. They affirmed support of the settlement of disputes through peaceful methods in line with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

PM Chính invited Chancellor Sebastian Kurz to visit Việt Nam in 2022 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations. The Austrian Chancellor accepted the invitation with pleasure. — VNS