Foreign Minister Bùi Thanh Sơn meets his Austrian counterpart Alexander Schallenberg. — Photo baoquocte.vn

VIENNA — Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bùi Thanh Sơn and his Austrian counterpart Alexander Schallenberg agreed to boost cooperation to develop bilateral relations more deeply, practically and effectively during talks held in Vienna on Wednesday afternoon (local time).

Minister Sơn is on a two-day official visit to Austria at the invitation of Austrian Minister Schallenberg.

In spite of difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the two countries maintained exchanges of delegations and meetings by flexible methods, contributing to enhancing political trust and comprehensive cooperation.

The two sides agreed to continue to increase exchanges of delegations at all levels and maintain existing cooperation and dialogue mechanisms such as the Joint Committee on Economic and Trade Cooperation between Việt Nam and Austria.

Cooperation in trade and investment is one of the important pillars of the relations between the two countries. The implementation of the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) over the past two years has helped to increase the two-way trade turnover between the two countries to US$3.35 billion in 2021, a year-on-year rise of 5.5 per cent.

Minister Sơn expressed his delight to meet his Austrian counterpart after their phone talks held in June this year. Sơn said this visit has an important meaning in the context when the two countries are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic ties.

Sơn proposed the Austrian Government voice support and encourage the Austrian Parliament to soon ratify the Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), support the EU to promptly remove the "yellow card" warning for seafood products of Việt Nam, and create conditions for trade and investment activities of the two countries on the basis of mutual benefits.

The two also discussed the expansion of bilateral cooperation to new areas such as green economy, renewable energy and climate change adaptation.

Minister Sơn thanked the Austrian Government for its development assistance for Việt Nam in the past, contributing to the socio-economic development of Việt Nam.

Austrian Minister Schallenberg affirmed that Austria will continue to provide development credit assistance for Việt Nam. He expressed his interest in promoting cooperation with Việt Nam in vocational training and tourism and in boosting people-to-people diplomacy between the two countries.

He spoke highly of Minister Sơn's visit which he said would help to foster the traditional friendship and cooperation between the two countries in all fields.

The ministers also discussed international and regional issues and agreed to continue to coordinate and support each other at multilateral forums.

Regarding the East Sea, the two shared the common stance of ensuring peace, stability, security, cooperation and development in the region and of handling disputes by peaceful measures in line with international laws, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

A Vietnam Day in Austria was organised in Vienna on September 28 - 29.

Within the framework of the event, Minister Sơn cut the ribbon to officially open the Vietnam Cultural Space, co-chaired a ceremony of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations, and delivered opening remarks at the Vietnam - Austria Business Forum. — VNS