Vietnamese Ambassador to Greece Phạm Thị Thu Hương meets with Patras Mayor Kostas Peletidis on Wednesday. — Photo courtesy of the Vietnamese embassy in Greece

PATRAS — Vietnamese Ambassador to Greece Phạm Thị Thu Hương paid a working visit to Patras on Wednesday as part of efforts to strengthen Việt Nam's connections with Greek localities.

Patras, Greece’s third-largest city, is a major commercial and maritime transport hub and is considered the country’s 'western gateway'.

During the visit, the ambassador held meetings with Patras Mayor Kostas Peletidis, the Achaia Chamber of Commerce and representatives of the Vietnamese community in Greece.

At the Patras City Hall, Peletidis briefed the ambassador on the city’s more than 800 years of history and development. He expressed his hope that the visit will open up new opportunities for cooperation between Patras and Việt Nam, particularly in culture, education and local-level exchanges.

Patras is ready to work with the Vietnamese Embassy to promote the country, culture and people through local cultural events and festivals, including the Patras Carnival, one of Greece’s largest annual festivals, the mayor remarked.

Hương highlighted the achievements made by the two countries since the establishment of diplomatic relations 50 years ago, marked by all-level mutual visits, including the coming trip by the Greek Foreign Minister this July.

She expressed a desire to translate this momentum into concrete cooperation projects with Patras in culture and education, both bilaterally and within the ASEAN-Patras framework, to substantively advance relations.

Potential initiatives include inviting Vietnamese artists to perform at cultural festivals in Patras, organising a Việt Nam Day in the city, and promoting connections between ASEAN countries represented in Greece and Patras in the first half of 2027, she suggested.

During a meeting with the Achaia Chamber of Commerce, the ambassador introduced Việt Nam's economic strengths and priority areas for cooperation and investment, including the green economy, innovation and high technology.

She noted Việt Nam's fast-growing economy and strong performance in manufacturing, exports, technology and foreign investment attraction, and expressed interest in expanding cooperation with Greek and Patras-based businesses in the fields of their strength, particularly in maritime transport and trade.

The chamber’s leaders underlined the importance of seizing opportunities generated by Việt Nam's vigorous growth, affirming the wish to strengthen links between businesses across the wider Patras region, including Achaia, Ilias and Aitoloakarnania, and Vietnamese partners.

The two sides agreed to pursue practical cooperation in maritime transport, labour, trade and the promotion of Vietnamese agricultural products. They also discussed measures for leveraging Patras’ port network to make the city a bridge connecting Việt Nam with Greece and other European markets, including Italy and Spain.

During the trip, Hương also met Fotini Sarantidou Nguyễn Bạch Tuyết, head of the Vietnamese community's liaison board in Greece and daughter of Kostas Sarantidis – Nguyễn Văn Lập, a Greek hero of the Vietnam People’s Army.

The two sides looked into ways to mobilise the strengths of the Vietnamese community in Europe to promote cultural exchanges with Greece and enhance its role in enhancing cooperation between Việt Nam and Patras. — VNA/VNS