President Iohannis welcomes Vietnamese PM; head of state encourages trade exchanges increase

President Klaus Iohannis on Monday welcomed at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace the Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, in which context he showed this country is one of the traditional economic partners of Romania in South-East Asia and encouraged an increase in trade exchanges between Romania and Vietnam.

The two high officials discussed topical issues regarding the current stage and prospects of the traditional cooperation at bilateral and multilateral level within the international organisations, the dialogue between the European Union and the Associations of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and the UN. Moreover, they approached topical aspects on the international and regional agenda, reads a release of the Presidential Administration.

"President Klaus Iohannis voiced his appreciation for the agenda full of political contacts between the two countries, in the past couple of years, and also for the symbolic nature of Vietnamese PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc's visit to Romania, in the context of the 70th anniversary since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Romania and Vietnam. The head of state highlighted that Vietnam is one of the traditional economic partners of our country in Southeast Asia, and he encouraged capitalization on the economic potential between the two states, through such measures meant to increase trade exchanges volume and the balance of trade. Thus, Klaus Iohannis appreciated the organisation of a business forum in the context of the visit of the high Vietnamese dignitary, with the support of the Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, encouraging at the same time capitalization on the existing instruments at governmental level, such as the mixed committee for economic cooperation," showed the release.

Moreover, the head of state assured his guest of Romania's commitment, in the context in which Romania is currently holding the presidency of the EU, to contribute to the signing, as soon as possible, of the Free Trade Agreement and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement, instruments that could stimulate including the activation of commercial-economic cooperation between Romania and Vietnam.

The two high dignitaries also approached the cooperation opportunities in the context of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), with the Vietnamese side being invite to participate in the meeting of ministers of education of ASEM and in the ASEF Rectors' Conference and Students' Forum, events organised in Romania in May this year.

The Vietnamese PM thanked Romania for the support granted to his country, while also voicing his trust in the progress that could be achieved during the Romanian presidency of the Council of EU in what concerns the signing of the Free Trade Agreement and EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement, highlighting that these can contribute including to the development of the Romanian-Vietnamese cooperation.

Nguyen Xuan Phuc voiced his appreciation for the bilateral cooperation developed in the commercial-economic, education, culture fields, and also on the labour market, maintaining the binding role of the community of Romanian experts and professionals operating on the Vietnamese labour market, respectively the approximately 5,000 Vietnamese specialists who studied in the Romanian universities.

The Vietnamese official is currently paying a visit to Romania.