Foreign Minister Bùi Thanh Sơn (left) presents a souvenir Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil. — VNA/VNS Photo

PRAGUE — Việt Nam always attaches great importance to promoting the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation with the Czech Republic, and wishes to further expand cooperation with the country across fields, Foreign Minister Bùi Thanh Sơn has said.

He was speaking during a meeting with Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil and talks with his Czech counterpart Jan Lipavsky on the occasion of his official visit to the European country on June 9-10.

Czech leaders expressed their good impressions on Việt Nam's socio-economic development achievements and highly valued Việt Nam's increasingly important position and role in recent years. They affirmed that Việt Nam is the most important partner of the European country in Southeast Asia.

The two sides acknowledged that high-level meetings and exchange of delegations have been maintained regularly in recent years, especially the official visit to Việt Nam by Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala in April, which has contributed to increasing political trust between the two countries and creating a motivation for stronger cooperation in other fields.

Thanks to positive impacts of the EU-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), trade-investment cooperation between the two countries has become a bright spot with two-way trade in 2022 hitting US$848 million, up nearly 15 per cent compared to the previous year.

The leaders agreed to discuss and soon agree on a new relationship framework to comprehensively promote cooperation between the two countries; fully tap opportunities brought about by the EVFTA and create favourable conditions for the two countries' exports to access each other's markets; strengthen the operational efficiency of the Inter-Governmental Committee for Economic Cooperation between Việt Nam and the Czech Republic; and make it easier for their businesses to connect and learn about the other market.

The Czech leaders acknowledged FM Sơn’s proposal to urge other EU countries to soon ratify the Việt Nam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), and the European Commission (EC) to soon remove its “yellow card” warning against Vietnamese seafood.

The two sides also discussed measures to expand cooperation in terms of security - defence, education - training, labour, culture and tourism.

They agreed to enhance close coordination and mutual support at multilateral organisations and forums, especially the United Nations, the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and within the framework of the ASEAN-EU Strategic Partnership.

Regarding the East Sea issue, the two countries affirmed their support for the settlement of the disputes by peaceful measures, and in accordance with international law, the UN Charter, and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 UNCLOS).

FM Sơn thanked the Czech government for creating favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community to stably live in and successfully integrate into the European country, expressing his belief that the community will continue to actively promote its role as a bridge for developing the friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

He used the occasion to invite Jan Lipavsky to pay an official visit to Việt Nam. — VNS