PM Chinh spoke highly of the results of the talks between the Slovenian official and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son, and her meeting with Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien, as well as the Vietnam-Slovenia business in Ho Chi Minh City.
The PM noted his belief that Fajon’s official visit to Vietnam from May 22-23 will contribute to advancing the traditional friendship and good cooperation between the two countries across spheres.
Vietnam always attaches importance and wishes to enhance the multi-faceted cooperation with Slovenia, one of its traditional friends in Central-Eastern Europe, he affirmed.
For her part, Fajon expressed her impression for Vietnam’s socio-economic achievements, and stressed that Slovenia wants to foster its cooperation and traditional friendship with Vietnam, a leading important partner of Slovenia in the region.
PM Chinh rejoiced at the positive development of the bilateral ties over the past time, and suggested the two sides increase the exchange of all-level delegations, especially in 2024 when they mark the 30th founding anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic relations.
The host leader emphasised that despite COVID-19 impacts last year, the bilateral economic and trade cooperation still maintained its growth pace, with two-way trade value hitting a record of over 570 million USD, up 15% from 2021.
He suggested Slovenia further facilitate the access of Vietnamese products like electronics, garments-textiles, farm produce and aquatic products to the Slovenian and EU markets.
The PM used the occasion to call on Slovenia to soon ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and urge the European Commission (EC) to soon remove its "yellow card" warning against Vietnamese seafood.
Fajon affirmed that with the good traditional friendship as the foundation, Slovenia wishes to deepen its relations with Vietnam in different spheres, stressing the Slovenian government highly values Vietnam’s advantages in terms of market, workforce and business environment, as well as the fact that both nations support free trade.
Slovenian firms are interested in and wish for result-oriented cooperation with Vietnam, as reflected through the big number of Slovenian companies that have come to the Southeast Asian nation on this occasion to seek cooperation, investment opportunities, she continued.
The host and guest shared the view that the two countries need to strengthen cooperation at multilateral and regional forums, and work together in response to global challenges like climate change, and energy and food crises.
Regarding the East Sea/South China Sea issue, they emphasised the importance of ensuring security, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea, and settling disputes by peaceful measures in line with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
PM Chinh also called for Slovenia’s further support for the Vietnamese community in the country, thus contributing to the long-standing friendship between the two nations.
