Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou and Vietnamese President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc during the press conference. — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

HÀ NỘI — President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc and Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou on Monday emphasised the importance of enhancing relations between the two countries.

This is the Greek President's first official visit to Việt Nam.

Vietnamese President Phúc praised the hard work carried out between the two countries to make progress with existing relations and revealed plans are in place to strengthen ties in the future. 

He told the press conference: "The relations between the two countries have seen significant progress recently, and we have set out specific directions and strategies to further deepen our cooperation in all aspects.

"We also discussed a number of regional and international issues of mutual concern.”

President Katerina Sakellaropoulou said that this visit will enhance relations between the two countries, the first time in nearly 14 years that a Greek president has been to Việt Nam. 

She affirmed that Greece attaches great importance to Việt Nam’s increasingly important role in the region and the world, and wishes to strengthen cooperation in all fields.

With more than 50 years of diplomatic relations, the two countries have achieved positive and comprehensive results in terms of economy, culture, education, sports and tourism. 

The two leaders also reached agreements on different measures to take advantage of and promote the potential and strengths of each country, including increasing political contacts and exchanges at all levels.

The trade turnover between the two countries reached nearly US$450 million in 2021, increasing by 33 per cent compared to 2020, and two times higher than the growth of 15 per cent between Việt Nam and the European Union (EU). 

President Phúc believed that the two countries still have enormous potential in the markets, sources of goods, and economies that could complement each other in the future.

The two leaders encouraged businesses to further exchange and cooperate, especially in the fields of shipbuilding, tourism, agriculture, and maritime. 

To create a framework for economic cooperation between the two countries in the future, the leaders agreed to continue with the negotiation to finalise the legal frameworks on scraping double taxation, and on maritime transport. 

In the spirit of mutual understanding, transparency, and trust, they also shared the same perspective on strengthening cooperation at multilateral and international forums, such as the United Nations, ASEAN-EU, and the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). 

President Sakellaropoulou said that Greece will continue to support Việt Nam to further strengthen its comprehensive partnership and cooperation with the EU, taking advantage of the great potential of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), contributing to the strong trade growth between Việt Nam and Greece.

President Phúc highly appreciated Greece's early ratification of the EU-Việt Nam Investment Agreement (EVIPA), and proposed that Greece support the removal of the Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) status of Vietnamese seafood.

He also expressed his gratitude to the Greek leaders and authorities for assisting the Vietnamese community in Greece.

During the talks, the two leaders discussed maintaining peace and stability, and ensuring security, safety, and freedom of maritime transport, on the basis of compliance with international laws and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Both the Vietnamese and Greece leaders agreed to work closely to bring the relations to a higher level, further cooperating in various fields. 

Focus will be put on cooperation for economic growth, peace, stability, collaboration, and development in the region and the world. — VNS