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Vietnamese, Romanian PMs hold talks

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his Romanian counterpart Ion Marcel Ciolacu held talks in Bucharest on January 22, following the welcome ceremony for the Vietnamese guest earlier the same day.
  PM Pham Minh Chinh (right) meets with his Romanian counterpart Ion Marcel Ciolacu (left). (Photo: VNA)   
PM Ciolacu underscored the significance of PM Chinh’s visit, which takes place at a time when the two countries are gearing towards the 75th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties in 2025, affirming that Vietnam is one of the top important partners of Romania in Asia-Pacific.

The leaders agreed on the necessity for closer collaboration across various domains, particularly in light of the complex and uncertain developments unfolding globally and in the region.

PM Chinh stressed that the Vietnamese Government and people never forget the invaluable support provided by Romania throughout their 75-year journey of independence and national development, notably its assistance in training over 4,000 Vietnamese students and graduates who have played a pivotal role in their contributions to Vietnam and the bilateral relationship.

Both sides agreed to continue facilitating the exchange of delegations at all levels, especially at high levels, through the Party, State, Government, parliamentary and people-to-people exchange channels to further strengthen political trust and mutual understanding, laying a foundation to expand bilateral cooperation in all areas.

|Describing economic, trade and investment ties as a crucial pillar in bilateral relations, they vowed to advance them commensurate with their political ties; further uphold existing cooperation mechanisms, and encourage businesses from both countries to fully and effectively implement the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

Vietnam is ready to serve as a gateway for Romanian goods to access the Vietnamese and ASEAN markets, PM Chinh said.
Acknowledging Romania's significant role, both as an EU member and a key contributor to the EVFTA which was signed on June 30, 2019, the last day of its rotating EU presidency, the Vietnamese leader urged continued advocacy for the prompt ratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) by remaining EU countries. He also sought support in lifting the "yellow card" warning on Vietnamese seafood from the European Commission.

PM Ciolacu, recognising Vietnam as one of Romania's most promising markets in Asia-Pacific, encouraged increased collaboration in trade, logistics and tourism, with Romania serving as Vietnam's gateway to Europe, particularly as Romania prepares to join the Schengen Area in March 2024.

At the talks, PM Chinh also thanked Romania for being the first EU member country to provide 300,000 vaccine doses and various medical supplies to Vietnam to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The host also extended thanks to Vietnam for gifting 10,000 doses of African swine fever vaccine, produced by Vietnam, to Romania for disease prevention. He expressed a desire to continue collaborating with Vietnam to produce this vaccine in Romania.

Host and guest pledged to strengthen effective cooperation in traditional areas such as education-training, sci-tech, national defence-security, culture-sports-tourism, labour, health care and pharmaceuticals while expanding collaboration in new fields, including information technology, innovation, digital transformation, green transition and circular economy.

The Vietnamese leader proposed the Romanian Government continue creating even more favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community living in Romania to integrate deeply into the local society, contributing to people-to-people exchange and tourism cooperation between the two countries.

The two sides affirmed their commitment to continued sharing of experience and mutual support at multilateral forums and international organisations, for the sake of peace, security, cooperation and development in the region and the world.

On the global issues, both sides underscored the importance of settling disputes through peaceful means, without the use or threat to use force, and in accordance with international law.

They also promised to work closely together to effectively prepare for upcoming high-level visits between the two countries./.

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