Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính presents a gift to Chairman of the Czech – Việt Nam Friendship Association Milos Kusy. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

PRAGUE — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính hosted a reception in Prague on January 18 afternoon (local time) for Chairman of the Czech – Việt Nam Friendship Association Milos Kusy as part of his official visit to the European country.

PM Chính said he was pleased to meet Kusy and friends who have close connections with Việt Nam. He affirmed that the Vietnamese people always appreciate the sentiments, and valuable support and wholehearted help of the Czech people for Việt Nam in the past struggle for national independence and reunification as well as in the current process of national construction and development.

Appreciating the activities of the Czech – Việt Nam Friendship Association and Kusy himself for supporting the Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic, as well as their activities to connect the people of the two countries, PM Chính affirmed that the Vietnamese State always supported and created favourable conditions for the association to continue to operate and stand side by side with the Vietnamese people.

Informing Kusy and the Czech friends about the socio-economic situation of Việt Nam, PM Chính said that his visit to the Czech Republic this time aimed to strengthen the traditional friendship between Việt Nam and the Czech Republic in all fields and further tighten the friendship between the two countries’ people. He proposed the association to continue supporting and promoting the Việt Nam-Czech relationship to make it more profound, substantive and effective.

Thanking PM Chính for his reception, Kusy recalled PM Phạm Văn Đồng's visit to the Czech Republic in 1957 with many important milestones. He believed that PM Chính's visit to the Czech Republic this time would open a new phase in the relationship between the two countries.

Expressing his admiration for Việt Nam's outstanding development, Kusy said that the association had coordinated very closely with the Vietnamese Embassy and associations of Vietnamese people in the Czech Republic and the Việt Nam - Czech Friendship Association, thus contributing to promoting the Việt Nam - Czech relations in general and between ministries, branches and localities of the two countries.

Kusy proposed Việt Nam coordinate with the Czech Republic to promote people-to-people exchanges, creating conditions for the people of the two countries to better understand each other's country, people, and culture, including building a Việt Nam culture centre in the Czech Republic. He affirmed that the Czech – Việt Nam Friendship Association would do its best to stand side by side with Việt Nam in the process of developing and cultivating relations between the two countries.

Agreeing with the proposal of Kusy, PM Chính said he would assign the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and relevant ministries and agencies to research and build a Vietnamese culture centre in the Czech Republic. — VNS