PRAGUE — Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc had a meeting with President of the Czech Republic Milos Zeman in Prague on Wednesday, as part of his official visit to the European nation.

PM Phúc affirmed that Việt Nam always treasured and wished to enhance the friendship and multifaceted co-operation with traditional friends in East-Central Europe, and the Czech Republic is a priority among them.

The Vietnamese Government leader applauded the encouraging developments in bilateral economic, trade and investment partnerships. He called on both sides to promote collaboration in the fields they have potential for such as tourism, air transport, and mining.

He also thanked leaders and all-level authorities of the Czech Republic for creating favourable conditions for Vietnamese people to settle down in the country, thereby helping to bolster the countries’ friendship and co-operation.

At the meeting, PM Phúc also asked the Czech Republic and President Zeman to support the early signing of the EU-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU-Việt Nam Investment Protection Agreement.

For his part, President Zeman affirmed that the Czech Republic attached importance to the traditional friendship and co-operation with Việt Nam.

He appreciated PM Phúc’s visit, voicing his belief that with the nearly-70-year relationship, the large number of Vietnamese who used to study in the Czech Republic, and the community of over 65,000 Vietnamese in the country, bilateral relations boast huge potential for stronger development in the future.

He also expressed his delight at the two sides’ active implementation of the deals signed during his trip to Việt Nam in 2017, including the launch of a direct air route linking Hà Nội and Prague.

With the signing and ratification of the EVFTA, which the Czech Republic completely supports, the traditional friendship and multifaceted co-operation between the countries would enjoy stronger and more substantive and effective strides in the future, the President added.

Meeting party leader

On the same day, PM Phúc had a meeting with Chairman of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSCM) Vojtech Filip, during which he said that despite geographical distance, the people of Việt Nam and the Czech Republic had given each other warm support.

Vietnamese people remember how the Czech friends helped during the country’s struggle for independence and national construction, he stated.

Expressing his delight at growing ties between the Communist Party of Vietnam and the KSCM, the Vietnamese leader thanked the KSCM and Filip for the party’s support to Việt Nam. As Deputy Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic’s Parliament, Filip has worked to enhance co-operation between the two parliaments, he noted.

For his part, the KSCM leader expressed pleasure at the sound partnership between the two countries, stating that he believed signed deals between the two countries would be realised soon. He pledged to closely supervise the implementation of agreements reached during talks between PM Phúc and his Czech counterpart, while continuing to foster the partnership between the two parliaments.

Revealing that he plans to visit Việt Nam, he said he hoped to fly on a new direct flight between the two countries by then.

The same day, PM Phúc met with leaders of Austrian company VAMED Engineering, during which the Prime Minister welcomed VAMED to expand its investment in Việt Nam and asked the firm to continue implementing health technology projects in the country.

Before concluding his visit to the Czech Republic, the PM visited the Sapa trade centre – a trading hub of the Vietnamese community about 15km from central Prague.

PM Phúc and his entourage left Prague for Việt Nam late Wednesday, ending his official visit to the Czech Republic. — VNS