Vice President Võ Thị Ánh Xuân (left) meets Croatian President Zoran Milanović in Zagreb on October 10. — VNA/VNS Photo Lâm Khánh

ZAGREB — Croatia always supports enhancing ties with Việt Nam in various areas and serves as a gateway for Việt Nam to enhance cooperation with the European Union, Croatian President Zoran Milanović told visiting Vietnamese Vice President Võ Thị Ánh Xuân during a meeting on October 10.

Milanović affirmed Croatia's support for the EU’s early removal of the “yellow card” warning on Vietnamese aquatic products.

He added that the European nation was ready to share its experience in sustainable aquaculture with Việt Nam.

Vice President Xuân, who is on an official visit to Croatia from October 9-11, stressed that Việt Nam always treasured and wished to boost bilateral traditional friendship and all-around cooperation, which was founded decades ago.

She thanked Croatia for providing 60,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses for Việt Nam in late 2021 as well as supporting the negotiation and signing of the EU-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and early approval of the EU-Việt Nam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), which have opened up opportunities in fields of each country’s strength and demand such as marine economy, agriculture, food processing, logistics and clean energy.

Both sides agreed to enhance the exchange of all-level delegations, especially those at high level and reach a consensus on measures to intensify bilateral ties, particularly in economy, trade and investment, as well as expand cooperation into the most promising areas such as tourism, transport, education-training and sports.

On the occasion, Xuân conveyed President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc’s invitation to President Milanović to visit Việt Nam. The Croatian President accepted the invitation with pleasure and wished to visit Việt Nam at the earliest opportunity.

Vice President Võ Thị Ánh Xuân meets Deputy Speaker of the Croatian Parliament Ante Sanader on October 10. — VNA/VNS Photo Lâm Khánh

On the same day, Xuân met with Deputy Speaker of the Croatian Parliament Ante Sanader, who considered the Vietnamese delegation's visit an opportunity for Croatia to strengthen its relations with Việt Nam.

The Vice President said Việt Nam wished to promote the traditional friendship with Croatia in all fields through all party, state, government, parliament and locality-to-locality channels.

Appreciating the Croatian Parliament for being one of the first in the EU to ratify the EVIPA, she proposed the body continue to encourage parliaments of other EU countries to soon ratify the deal so that it would take effect as soon as possible, creating a legal basis to promote trade and investment cooperation between Việt Nam and the bloc in general and Croatia in particular.

Both officials agreed to consider the early signing of a cooperation agreement between their parliaments and a possibility of establishing their friendship parliamentarians' groups.

Earlier on October 10, Xuân visited the University of Zagreb, suggesting Việt Nam and Croatia soon sign an agreement on educational cooperation, implement joint projects on scientific research and innovation, and establish a direct student exchange mechanism between the University of Zagreb and Vietnamese universities.

On October 9, she had a meeting with staff at the Vietnamese Embassy in Hungary and Croatia, and representatives of the Vietnamese community there. — VNS