According to Ambassador Ha Hoang Hai, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to Poland is of great significance to promoting relations between the two countries in the coming time.
At the invitation of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Pham Minh Chinh and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation paid an official visit to Poland from January 16-18, 2025, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
On this occasion, according to VNA correspondent in Central Eastern Europe, Vietnamese Ambassador to Poland Ha Hoang Hai answered the press interview.
- Could you please tell us the significance of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to Poland for Vietnam-Poland relations in the context that this year the two countries celebrate the 75th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations?
Ambassador Ha Hoang Hai: The visit is of great significance to promoting bilateral relations in the coming time; it is an opportunity for senior leaders of Vietnam and Poland to meet and discuss directly on important issues, thereby building trust and mutual understanding, demonstrating commitment to maintaining and developing a long-term and sustainable relationship.
The visit takes place in the context of fast-changing, complex and unpredictable international politics. Many hot spots in the world are at risk of spreading, affecting regional and international peace and stability, directly affecting Vietnam and Poland.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit continues the dynamic and active foreign affairs activities of the Party and State leaders in recent times, affirming the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralization, diversification, being a friend, a reliable partner and a responsible member of the international community. The visit also demonstrates Vietnam's appreciation for the long-standing friendship with traditional friends in Central and Eastern Europe, including Poland.
The visit is even more meaningful as from January 1, 2025, Poland will hold the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU), with an increasingly important position and role in the EU, while Vietnam and the EU are also celebrating the 35th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations, aiming to upgrade the relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership. The Prime Minister's visit to Poland contributes to promoting the adoption of Poland's role in the EU to enhance cooperation between Vietnam and Poland in particular and Vietnam and the EU in general.
It can be said that the visit of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to Poland is of great significance, contributing to increasing political trust, promoting and bringing traditional cooperation areas such as economy, trade, labor, culture, education, human resource training... to a new stage, meeting the development requirements of each country; promoting cooperation in potential and strong areas such as science and technology, information and communication, pharmaceuticals and innovation. The visit contributes to promoting the two countries to upgrade diplomatic relations.
In addition, the visit of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh is also an opportunity for Vietnam and Poland to promote cooperation to connect the relationship between Vietnam and Central Eastern Europe and between Poland and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), closely coordinating in solving global issues to contribute to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.
- Could the Ambassador mention some highlights in the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Poland over the past 75 years?
Ambassador Ha Hoang Hai: As we know, Poland recognized and established diplomatic relations with Vietnam very early, on February 4, 1950. The Polish people always have good feelings for the country and people of Vietnam. Poland actively supported Vietnam in the resistance wars to save the country. Poland was the only country to send thousands of officers to participate in both the Armistice Commissions after the Geneva Agreement in 1954 and the Paris Agreement in 1973.
Poland also helped train thousands of Vietnamese officials and engineers to build the country in peacetime. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the two countries supported and helped each other through shipments of masks sent from Vietnam to Poland and millions of doses of valuable COVID-19 vaccines donated from Warsaw to Hanoi. Then there was the Polish government's support in helping Vietnamese people in difficulty, evacuated from Ukraine. Those gestures of "mutual love" in times of trouble proved that the two countries are sincere partners and support each other.
In terms of trade and economy, Poland is currently Vietnam's number 1 trading partner in Central and Eastern Europe, while Vietnam is Poland's 7th largest trading partner outside the EU. Currently, Vietnamese people can easily access Polish agricultural and food products in supermarkets.
Meanwhile, Vietnamese textiles, confectionery, food, agricultural products... are no longer unfamiliar to Polish people. Besides, an important area of cooperation in Vietnam-Poland relations is education and training.
From the 1960s to the early 1990s, Poland trained over 4,000 students and scientists; over 3,500 skilled workers, mainly in the coal and shipbuilding industries for Vietnam. Currently, the Polish Government still grants 20 scholarships to Vietnamese students every year and plans to increase this number further in the near future.
The Vietnamese community in Poland currently has about 30,000 people, has many outstanding achievements, actively integrates into Polish society, contributes significantly to maintaining and developing traditional relations, friendship, and multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries and is positively evaluated by the Polish government; is considered a typical example of a successful immigrant community in Poland.
- According to the Ambassador, what should the two countries do to promote the potential and strengths of each country to further strengthen bilateral relations?
Ambassador Ha Hoang Hai: Vietnam and Poland are both dynamic developing countries in the region, with increasingly enhanced roles and positions. Both countries have long-term development orientations and visions with their own goals. Therefore, in order to promote the potential strengths of each country, the two sides need to increase delegation exchanges at all levels, promote the effectiveness of consultation mechanisms, and enhance coordination between specialized agencies of both sides to understand each other's needs and goals, thereby choosing areas in which the parties have priorities and strengths, contributing to supporting each other's development. Some areas are developing and have great potential for bilateral cooperation such as tourism, science and technology cooperation, artificial intelligence, renewable energy, etc.
In the tourism sector, the two sides need to consider re-establishing direct flights to serve the needs of the people of the two countries, as well as promoting the attraction of Polish tourists to visit Vietnam. In the labor sector, this is a field of cooperation with much room for growth, with Vietnamese workers suitable for and welcomed in the Polish labor market. Therefore, the authorities of the two sides need to soon sign labor agreements and promote the supply of official labor from Vietnam to Poland.
- This year, Vietnam and Poland celebrate the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations. Could you tell us about some of the outstanding plans and activities that the two countries have been implementing to promote people-to-people exchanges and enhance friendship and mutual understanding between the people of the two countries?
Ambassador Ha Hoang Hai: In preparation for this year's special event, since the end of 2024, the Vietnamese Embassy in Poland has coordinated with the Polish Embassy in Hanoi to organize a logo design contest to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The contest attracted 350 entries from both Polish and Vietnamese artists. The embassies of the two countries have chosen a very high-quality logo, meaningful for commemorating the special event of Vietnam-Poland relations.
At the end of January 2025, a painting exhibition is expected to take place to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the National Day of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
After the visit of the Prime Minister and the high-ranking delegation of Vietnam to Poland, the Vietnamese Embassy in Poland will coordinate with the Polish Embassy in Hanoi and the relevant agencies of the two countries to thoroughly grasp and implement the contents reached by the leaders of the two sides, actively coordinate to make the Vietnam-Poland cooperation relationship increasingly effective, for the benefit of the people of the two countries.
Reporter: Thank you very much, Ambassador./.
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