Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc (left) held talks with visiting Czech Republic's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Jan Hamacek in Hà Nội on Tuesday. — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc expressed his delight at the Czech Republic’s plan to launch a direct air route between Prague and Hà Nội during a reception on Tuesday for visiting Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Jan Hamacek.

PM Phúc suggested the two countries work closely together to celebrate the 70th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties next year.

He believed that the Vietnamese community in the European country would make further contributions to bilateral ties, and asked the Czech Republic to create favourable conditions to grant visas to Vietnamese citizens for travel, study and work.

The host thanked the Czech Republic for accelerating the signing of the European Union-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU-Việt Nam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) in June.

He called on the country to soon ratify the EVIPA and carry forward the European Parliament’s early ratification of the EVFTA, contributing to deepening the Việt Nam-EU comprehensive partnership and the Việt Nam-Czech Republic economic, trade and investment ties.
The government leader thanked the Czech Republic for supporting Việt Nam’s bid to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2020-21 tenure.
The country highly valued the Czech Republic and hoped it would continue supporting the maintenance of peace, stability and security in the East Sea as well as ASEAN’s common stance on the settlement of disputes by peaceful means in line with international law, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, he said.
He said aside from traditional areas, Việt Nam wanted to co-operate with the Czech Republic in the fields of human resources, cyber security and crime prevention.
Hamacek told the host that he and leaders of the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security had discussed important issues such as promoting security protection, fighting drug crime, illegal migration and ensuring cyber security.
The Czech delegation also held a working session with FLC Group’s Bamboo Airways to debate security when it comes to opening a direct air route between the two countries.
The Czech Republic government welcomed and fully supported the launch of the route which would contribute to boosting bilateral trade and cultural exchanges, he said. — VNS