Strengthening trade and investment cooperation activities between Vietnam and Austria

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received Austrian Ambassador to Vietnam Philipp Agathonos. (Photo: Duong Giang/VNA)

On the evening of March 26, at the Government Headquarters, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received Ambassador of the Republic of Austria Philipp Agathonos on the occasion of his tenure in Vietnam.

At the meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh congratulated Ambassador Philipp Agathonos on his new assignment in Vietnam; believed that with his many years of experience in diplomacy, Ambassador Philipp Agathonos would actively contribute to consolidating and enhancing the friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Austria; affirmed that the Vietnamese Government and ministries will create all favorable conditions for Ambassador Philipp Agathonos to successfully complete his term of office.

Sharing about the development of bilateral relations, the Prime Minister expressed his joy at witnessing the impressive achievements of the Vietnam-Austria relationship, especially in the fields of politics-diplomacy, economy, development cooperation, science-technology, culture-arts, education-training, and people-to-people exchange.

Vietnam is currently Austria's largest trading partner in ASEAN and Austria is always among the top 10 export markets of Vietnam in the EU with a trade turnover of about 2.45 billion USD in 2024.

The Prime Minister highly appreciated the Austrian Government for providing ODA in recent times, actively contributing to Vietnam's socio-economic development.

In order to further promote the potential and strengths of the two countries, contributing to raising the level of relations in the coming time, the Prime Minister suggested that the two sides promote the exchange of delegations at all levels, especially high-level ones; strengthen cooperation activities, and enhance trade and investment exchanges.

The Prime Minister expressed his belief that the Austrian Parliament's approval of the Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and the European Commission's removal of the IUU yellow card for Vietnamese seafood will create favorable conditions for economic cooperation between Vietnam and the EU in general and Vietnam and Austria in particular.

With Austria's strengths in the field of railway transport, the two sides can identify this as a promising area of ​​cooperation in the coming time, focusing on exploiting preferential capital sources, technology transfer and human resource training.

In addition, the two sides need to closely coordinate, enhance exchanges and expand cooperation in the fields of education and training, cultural and artistic exchanges, as well as cooperate to address global challenges such as responding to climate change, and organize events to promote culture to the public on both sides to strengthen the friendly relations between the two countries.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received Austrian Ambassador to Vietnam Philipp Agathonos. (Photo: Duong Giang/VNA)

Ambassador Philipp Agathonos expressed his honor to receive the new assignment, sharing his impressions of Vietnam's socio-economic development achievements and role in the region.

Affirming that Vietnam is an important partner of Austria in Southeast Asia, Ambassador Philipp Agathonos expressed his determination and commitment to make every effort to promote the bilateral relationship to become increasingly deeper and more effective, considering this the direction and focus during his term in Vietnam.

Regarding trade and investment cooperation, Ambassador Philipp Agathonos highly appreciated the directions of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the Dialogue with large European corporations and enterprises (March 2, 2025) to make Vietnam a destination for production, business and long-term investment of EU enterprises in the region.

The Ambassador said that in addition to traditional areas of cooperation, the Austrian Embassy will closely coordinate with Vietnamese partners to find new areas of cooperation with great potential, especially in the fields of science and technology, education and training, cyber security, nursing and railway infrastructure./.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/tang-cuong-cac-hoat-dong-hop-tac-thuong-mai-va-dau-tu-giua-viet-nam-va-ao-post1022925.vnp