Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Lê Hoài Trung (right) and Croatian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman at their meeting on May 19 in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam and Croatia agreed to strengthen the role of their foreign ministries in coordinating bilateral relations and expedite the establishment of a Joint Committee for Economic Cooperation to boost the effectiveness of trade and investment ties.

The agreement was reached during talks in Hà Nội on Tuesday between Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Lê Hoài Trung and Croatian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman, who is on an official visit to Việt Nam.

Welcoming the first-ever visit to Việt Nam by a Croatian foreign minister since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1994, Trung described the trip as a strong signal of Croatia’s commitment to expanding multifaceted cooperation with Việt Nam. He affirmed that Việt Nam always treasures relations with traditional friends, with Croatia regarded as one of its priority partners in the Balkan region.

Updating the Croatian minister on Việt Nam's recent development and bilateral relations, Trung proposed increasing exchanges and visits at all levels, particularly high-level contacts through Party, State, Government and parliamentary channels, along with stronger people-to-people exchanges.

He also called for closer coordination and consultation at regional and international forums, especially within the United Nations (UN), the European Union (EU) and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) frameworks, to deepen mutual understanding, reinforce political trust and inject fresh momentum into the bilateral ties.

For his part, Radman said Croatia views Việt Nam as one of its key partners in Southeast Asia and wants to step up practical cooperation in various areas, including science and technology, defence and security, smart logistics, maritime economy, tourism and labour.

The two ministers agreed that the bilateral ties still hold significant untapped potential, particularly in trade and investment, science and technology, defence and security, port cooperation and tourism.

They also encouraged businesses from both countries to intensify market research, information exchanges and investment exploration in sectors aligned with emerging development trends and each side’s strengths, such as information technology, cybersecurity, green logistics, new energy and seaport cooperation.

Trung called on Croatia to prompt remaining EU member states to soon ratify the EU–Việt Nam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), helping to create a more favourable legal framework for investment ties between Việt Nam and the EU, as well as between Việt Nam and Croatia. He also requested Croatia to urge the European Commission (EC) to soon remove its “yellow card” warning against Vietnamese seafood exports over illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

The two sides also highlighted strong prospects for cooperation in the fields of education and training, culture, sports, tourism and labour, agreeing to better tap complementary strengths in line with each country’s development needs.

Discussing regional and international issues of shared concern, the two ministers reaffirmed their support for multilateralism, respect for international law and the peaceful settlement of disputes without using or threatening to use force. They agreed to maintain close coordination at multilateral forums, including the United Nations and ASEAN-EU mechanisms, contributing to peace, stability and sustainable development in each region and the world as well.

As part of the visit, the Diplomatic Academy of Việt Nam and the Diplomatic Academy of Croatia signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the presence of the two foreign ministers. — VNA/VNS