PM’s Europe tour successful in multiple aspects: Foreign Minister

Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính met with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis in Bucharest on January 22 as part of his official visit to the European nation. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính’s attendance in the 54th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos and official visits to Hungary and Romania have reaped success in multiple aspects, said Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn.

Talking to the media, Sơn said that with more than 30 activities during two days in Davos, PM Chính’s participation in the WEF Annual Meeting 2024 reached all the set targets at a high level and strongly popularise the image of Việt Nam as a country with a new stature and prestige.

Among the significant results, he elaborated, first, international organisations highly valued Việt Nam’s mindset, vision and solutions shared by PM Chính about the enhancement of international solidarity, the upholding of multilateralism, the building of strategic trust and the ensuring of the balance of interests, and the promotion of global and all-people approaches.

In particular, the Country Strategic Dialogue on Việt Nam, the dialogue on Việt Nam’s global vision, and other sessions left strong impression on participants about the country’s outstanding socio-economic achievements, development orientations and strategies, foreign policy of independence and self-reliance, and responsible and effective contributions to regional and global peace and development.

Second, the PM’s speeches sent out clear messages about Việt Nam as a dynamically developing and reforming country and an attractive destination for global enterprises.

Representatives of enterprises said they were impressed with Việt Nam’s strategic development vision, expressed their interest in investment and business opportunities in the country, and pledged to send business delegations to Việt Nam in the time ahead, the Foreign Minister said.

Third, via the world’s leading economic forum, Việt Nam grasped new cooperation mindsets and ideas, along with new trends of the global economy, realising that the world is entering a new development stage with growth driven by artificial intelligence and low-carbon technologies. 

Fourth, the Government leader’s participation continued to step up Việt Nam’s relations with the WEF in an increasingly substantive manner, in such fields as setting up an Industry 4.0 centre in HCM City and helping develop new skills for high-quality human resources to shape an ecosystem for strengthening national competitiveness, Sơn went on.

He added that in Davos, PM Chính also engaged in more than 20 meetings with leaders of countries, international organisations and major enterprises to further intensify relations with partners in various areas, especially economy, trade, investment, science, technology, digital transformation, green transition, health care and intellectual property.

The PM’s official visits to Hungary and Romania following his attendance in the WEF Annual Meeting were also highly successful. They marked the first delegation exchange at the PM level with Hungary in seven years and with Romania in five years, ahead of the 75th anniversary of Việt Nam’s diplomatic ties with the two European countries in 2025. They aimed to continue strongly implementing the foreign policy set at the 13th National Party Congress, which prioritises reinforcing relations with comprehensive and traditional partners, helping deepen political trust and connections with the Central and Eastern European friends in all fields, according to Sơn.

During the visits, he said, PM Chính held more than 30 meetings with all high-ranking leaders of the states, governments, parliaments and political parties of Hungary and Romania. He also delivered policy speeches at universities, took part in business forums, met with the two countries’ friendship associations with Việt Nam, talked to the Vietnamese communities and visited some economic, scientific and technical establishments there.

Leaders of both Hungary and Romania noted they were strongly impressed with Việt Nam’s socio-economic development achievements, and also spoke highly of Việt Nam’s growing stature in the international arena.

Affirming that Việt Nam is a partner of leading importance of their countries in the Asia-Pacific, they expressed their hope that bilateral relations will grow in a more substantive and effective manner, and that their countries and Việt Nam will coordinate to deal with international issues and respond to global challenges.

PM Chính and leaders of the two European countries reached consensus on many important measures for lifting Việt Nam’s traditional friendship with the two to a new development stage, the Foreign Minister continued.

In addition, an array of cooperation documents in the fields of security, diplomacy, economy, culture, labour, agriculture, information technology and locality-to-locality ties were signed with Hungary and Romania. A highlight of the trips was the cooperation in education – training with nearly 30 deals inked between Vietnamese universities and training institutions of the two countries.

Sơn noted that the Vietnamese PM and Hungarian and Romanian leaders also touched upon some regional and international issues of shared concern. They agreed on the importance of peacefully resolving disputes on the basis of international law.

The Foreign Minister described the official visits as important milestones in the Việt Nam – Hungary comprehensive partnership and the Việt Nam – Romania traditional friendship. They consolidated political trust and foster all-round cooperation in a more result-oriented manner to serve Việt Nam’s security and development interests and contribute to regional and global peace, stability, cooperation and development.  VNS