Vietnamese Ambassador to Hungary and Croatia Nguyễn Thị Bích Thảo. VNA/VNS Photo

BUDAPEST – Việt Nam always attaches importance to developing the traditional friendship and multi-faceted cooperation with its traditional partners in the Balkan region, with Croatia being a priority, Vietnamese Ambassador to Hungary and Croatia Nguyễn Thị Bích Thảo has said.

In an interview with Vietnam News Agency's reporters based in south Europe on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Việt Nam-Croatia diplomatic relations (July 1, 1994-2024), she highlighted the robust relations between the two countries which have been expanded across various sectors, with the most impressive being politics-diplomacy, economy and trade, adding they boast huge potential for cooperation to promote their strengths.

They have maintained delegation exchanges at all levels, including a visit to Việt Nam in 2008 by Croatian President Stjepan Mesic, and an official trip to Croatia in 2022 by Vice President Võ Thị Ánh Xuân, while meetings between high-ranking leaders have been arranged regularly on the sidelines of the multilateral forums.

According to Thảo, the two countries have worked together in regional and international issues of mutual concerns, supported each other at multilateral forums like the UN, and joined hands to bolster the ASEAN-EU strategic partnership. Việt Nam and Croatia have signed various important agreements that laid a legal framework for their cooperation as well as the development of the bilateral ties, particularly diplomacy, economy and trade.

She held that there is ample room for cooperation based on the complementary nature of the two economies and their competitive edge through both bilateral and multilateral channels.

Bestowed with an array of the world’s renowned landscapes and long beaches, they hold huge potential to collaborate in tourism, sea-based economy, logistics and people-to-people exchange, among others, she said, adding Việt Nam stands ready to serve as a gateway for the Croatian goods to enter the ASEAN markets.

The two nations will also enhance cooperation within the framework of the ASEAN-EU, Asia-Europe Meeting, and such domains as peace keeping, climate change response and humanitarian assistance.

To mark the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic ties, a political consultation was held between Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Lê Thị Thu Hằng and State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs Frano Matusic in March. Most recently, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn exchanged a letter of greetings with Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman.

She said the embassy will arrange for a delegation of Vietnamese enterprises and associations to visit Croatia to organise the “Vietnamese Cultural Days” in the nation that will feature art performances, photo exhibitions on Việt Nam, and introduction of Vietnamese cuisine, calligraphy, among others, helping nudge the Vietnamese images closers to the Croatian people.

Regarding measures to promote the bilateral ties, Thảo suggested that the two sides enhance delegation exchanges at all levels via the state, parliamentary, ministerial, sectorial and local channels to improve political trust and mutual understanding which she said serve as a foundation to bolster the bilateral cooperation.

Economic-trade-investment collaboration should be an important pillar in the bilateral ties in the coming time while it is necessary to expand the signing of agreements across culture, sports, education, tourism and labour, she recommended, saying they should promote the establishment of an inter-governmental committee on economic cooperation, pay due attention to fully carry out the EU-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement, and the upcoming EU-Việt Nam Investment Protection Agreement.

The two sides should focus on providing information and building trade-investment promotion programmes to help their business communities get a better insight into each other’s business and investment climate.

Based on their sound cooperation, the two countries will set up new cooperation mechanisms and expand parliamentary collaboration, she said, adding they will continue broadening the ties in the potential areas of food processing, logistics, transition to clean energy, high technology, digital economy and pharmaceuticals, among others.

Việt Nam is planning to appoint an honorary consul in Zagreb to promote bilateral relations, especially in the field of economy and trade, and support of the Vietnamese citizens in the nation. – VNS