Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính meets with Hungarian National Assembly Speaker László Kövér on Monday. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam and Hungary agreed that economic, trade and investment cooperation constitutes one of the key pillars of their bilateral relationship and that both sides should enhance collaboration in these fields commensurate with the high level of political trust between the two countries.

The consensus was reached on Monday during a meeting between Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính and Hungarian National Assembly Speaker László Kövér, who is on an official visit to Việt Nam from October 18–22.

Briefing the Hungarian leader on Việt Nam’s recent socio-economic developments, PM Chính affirmed that Việt Nam always attached great importance to and wished to strengthen its relations with traditional friends in Central and Eastern Europe, among whom Hungary is one of its top priority partners.

Speaker Kövér expressed his admiration for Việt Nam’s remarkable and historically significant achievements after nearly four decades of Đổi mới (Renewal), as well as his appreciation for Việt Nam’s growing role and stature in the region and the world. He affirmed that Việt Nam remained Hungary’s most important partner in Southeast Asia.

PM Chính highly valued and thanked Hungary for being among the first EU member states to ratify the EU–Việt Nam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA). He also called on the Hungarian Parliament to continue supporting and promoting the early ratification of the agreement by other EU member states.

In response, Speaker Kövér affirmed that Hungary stood ready to encourage and advocate for the remaining EU countries to approve the agreement, noting that it would serve the interests of all parties involved.

Discussing major orientations to advance bilateral relations more substantively and effectively, PM Chính outlined several key measures.

He emphasised the need to enhance political trust through continued exchanges and meetings at all levels, particularly high-level ones, across the Party, State, Government, parliamentary and people-to-people channels.

He called for the expansion of trade and investment cooperation, setting the goal of doubling two-way trade to about US$2 billion in the near future and identified this area as a key pillar of bilateral ties.

The Prime Minister also stressed the importance of promoting development cooperation by effectively implementing projects financed through Hungary’s preferential credit for Việt Nam. He proposed boosting cooperation in education and training, especially in fields where Hungary holds strengths and Việt Nam has high demand, such as peaceful nuclear energy, high technology, medicine and innovation.

In addition, he suggested strengthening collaboration in environmental protection, particularly in water security, a field in which Hungary possesses rich experience and expertise.

The Vietnamese leader also encouraged expanding labour cooperation, which holds significant potential for mutual benefit, and fostering cultural, tourism and people-to-people exchanges. He noted that both sides should focus on jointly organising activities in celebration of the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Việt Nam and Hungary in 2025.

Speaker Kövér expressed strong agreement with PM Chính’s proposals.

Regarding parliamentary cooperation, he affirmed that the Hungarian National Assembly would always be ready to coordinate in implementing high-level agreements and to support the two governments in advancing bilateral relations across all sectors, particularly in trade, investment and economic partnership.

He added that the Hungarian National Assembly would continue working closely with the Vietnamese National Assembly to build and improve the legal framework for bilateral cooperation, thereby contributing to the deepening of the Việt Nam–Hungary comprehensive partnership.

The two leaders also exchanged views on regional and international issues of shared concern. They agreed to maintain close coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums and to uphold the principle of resolving disputes by peaceful means, with full respect for international law, in order to preserve stability and security in their respective regions. — VNS