National Assembly (NA) Chairwoman Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân (centre left) meets with Vojtech Fillip (centre right), Chairman of the Czech Republic and Morava Communist Party and Deputy Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic in Prague yesterday. — VNA/VNS Photo Trọng Đức

PRAGUE – Việt Nam attaches great importance to developing multifaceted co-operation with its traditional friends in Eastern Europe, including the Czech Republic, said National Assembly (NA) Chairwoman Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân.

She made the affirmation at a meeting with Vojtech Fillip, Chairman of the Czech Republic and Morava Communist Party and Deputy Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic in Prague yesterday as part of her four-day visit to the European country, which started on Tuesday.

Ngân said she supported the enhanced ties between the Party of Việt Nam and the Czech Republic and Morava Communist Party, which she said was an important co-operation channel between the two countries.

The co-operation between the two countries has progressed across many fields over the years, including politics, trade-investment, national defence and security, and science and technology. The two sides continue to exchange many visits of high-ranking delegations.

Ngân said she hoped that the Czech Republic and Morava Communist Party would continue working to promote comprehensive relations between the two countries, particularly in fostering the relations between localities of the two countries.

Agreeing with the top Vietnamese lawmaker, Czech Republic and Morava Communist Party Chairman Fillip said the two countries should establish co-operative relations between the two Parties at both central and local levels. The Czech side was ready for increasing this co-operation, he said.

He proposed to increase co-operation between press agencies of the two countries, which would help to facilitate exchanges and information sharing between the two Parties.

He expressed his belief that the upcoming State visit to Việt Nam by the Czech President would contribute to lifting the relations between the two countries to new heights.

Later the same day, NA Chairwoman Ngân received leaders from the Czech Chamber of Economy, the Czech Top 100 Association, and a beer firm.

She expressed her pleasure at meeting with the leaders of the Czech association, hoping that they will encourage businesses to invest and do business in Việt Nam. She briefed participants on Việt Nam’s legal system towards further international integration, as well as the country’s favourable conditions for investors to expand their operations in the region. Việt Nam was willing to serve as a bridge for Czech businesses to expand to other markets in Southeast Asia, she affirmed.

Echoing Ngân’s sentiment on the economic and trade relationship not meeting its potential, Vice President of the Czech Chamber of Economy Borivoj Minar said Czech associations wanted to improve the situation. He stressed that many Czech firms and associations had visited and sought opportunities for investment and business in Việt Nam recently.

According to Minar, the Czech Republic is an open market and his chamber is willing to provide support to bring Vietnamese commodities to Europe. Many Czech goods, including manufacturing products and food, were present in Việt Nam, he said, hoping for more Czech products to enter the Southeast Asian market in the future.

Việt Nam was attractive to Czech firms, he said, adding that Czech businesses were ready to co-operate and transfer technology to produce goods such as manufacturing and produce preservation technology. Through Việt Nam, Czech enterprises wish to expand to other markets in the region, he said. - VNS