Hans-Peter Glanzer, Ambassador of the Republic of Austria to Việt Nam. — VNS Photo Vân Nguyễn

Austrian ambassador to Việt Nam Hans-Peter Glanzer speaks to Việt Nam News about the Việt Nam-Austria ties and their development potential ahead of President Võ Văn Thưởng's visit to the European country.

How do you evaluate the achievements in Vietnam-Austria relations, especially as the two countries celebrated their 50 years of diplomatic relations in 2022?

Last year we celebrated the 50th-year anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Việt Nam and Austria. I think it was an excellent opportunity to take stock of our bilateral relations.

Austria was one of the first countries to establish such relations with Việt Nam back in 1972. Since then, relations have developed in an excellent way in various fields, be it political, economic or academic.

Economic relations have developed very well. We have seen bilateral trade volume between Việt Nam and Austria has increased many folds in the last 20 years. And last year, we saw a new peak of 1.65 billion euros (US$1.8 billion) in our trade volume, and I have to say it's a high surplus in favour of Việt Nam.

Việt Nam is our largest trading partner in the ASEAN region and Austria is between the fifth and seventh most important export market for Việt Nam in Europe. That trend was further strengthened by the free trade agreement between the European Union and Việt Nam, which entered into force in 2020.

I would also like to mention Austrian investments in Việt Nam - we have around 60 Austrian companies with subsidiaries in Việt Nam, and around one-third of these companies are engaged in the manufacturing sector.

What is the significance of Vietnamese President Võ Văn Thưởng's upcoming visit to Austria to bilateral cooperation?

It is very good to see visits at a high political level, which are so important for fostering our bilateral relations that have been resumed after the COVID pandemic. Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bùi Thanh Sơn visited Austria at the end of September last year, and our Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg was here in Việt Nam in mid-April this year.

The visit of President Võ Văn Thưởng to Austria is of great importance and significance because the visit will help further strengthen our bilateral relations. We are looking forward to intensifying our cooperation in the economic and educational fields. I think such a visit is always a good opportunity to intensify cooperation and to push further certain projects.

Austrian foreign minister Alexander Schallenberg (left) and his Vietnamese counterpart Bùi Thanh Sơn in Hà Nội in April 2023. — VNA/VNS Photo Lâm Khánh

How are Việt Nam-Austria ties expected to evolve in the future?

I see great potential for further deepening our friendly relations. For example, in the economic field, there's definitely more room for Austrian investments in Việt Nam. Việt Nam's dynamic economic development, its young population and the growing middle class make the country an attractive location for Austrian companies.

Austria can support Việt Nam in various fields - for example, in strengthening its industrial capacity, but also with the green economy in the field of renewable energies, and in developing public infrastructure, including the health care sector. There are many opportunities and possibilities.

Vice versa, we also see a lot of opportunities for Vietnamese companies in Austria and Vietnamese investment and Austria. Austria is centrally located in Europe and can also be used as a kind of springboard for other regions in the continent.

In this context, Austria has also provided soft loans in the last year of around 350 million euros ($386 million) for, among others, the development of the health care sector and transport infrastructure, like the railway sector.

We also see quite a lot of potential for increased cooperation in the educational and academic field, for example, in the field of vocational training, or in the intensified cooperation between the two diplomatic academies, the Diplomatic Academy of Việt Nam and the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna, for example.

How do you feel about cooperation between Việt Nam and Austria at multilateral forums, such as the United Nations, ASEM and ASEAN-EU?

We are facing multiple challenges and crises at the global level, which require cooperation and solidarity as well as a strong multilateral system more than ever. Thus it is important and in the very own interest of our two countries that we pursue active multilateralism both at a global and regional level, be it in the framework of the United Nations or regional ones like ASEAN-EU. I think that is valid for both countries.

One of the big challenges we are facing is climate change. We very much welcome the ambitious goal of Việt Nam to become carbon neutral by 2050.

Another global challenge which required common responses and international cooperation was the COVID pandemic - Austria supported the Vietnamese in fighting the pandemic by donating vaccines.

The foundation for our cooperation is the respect for and commitment to a rules-based international order, which both of our countries strongly support; this is also important with regard to safe, free and open trade routes. We all must be interested in the respect for the sovereignty and integrity of nations and the Charter of the United Nations. — VNS