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| Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh meets with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, USA, September 20, 2023 (Source: VNA) |
Could the Ambassador share the meaning and key contents of the Prime Minister's visit to Romania this time?
At the invitation of Prime Minister Ion-Marcel Ciolacu, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife paid an official visit to Romania from January 20-22. The visit is primarily aimed at affirming Vietnam's desire to continue strengthening the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries, which have been painstakingly built and nurtured since the two countries established diplomatic relations on February 3, 1950.
With valuable support and assistance to each other, over the years, the Vietnam-Romania relationship has continued to be demonstrated at international forums, in the signing and ratification of the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) as well as in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and the evacuation of Vietnamese citizens from the conflict in Ukraine as well as supporting the Vietnamese community living, working and studying in Romania...
The visit takes place in the early days of 2024, when the two countries are preparing to celebrate the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year. In that context, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit will bring new momentum, creating momentum to promote cooperation between the two countries in many fields.
At the same time, the visit has created an extremely exciting atmosphere for the staff of the Embassy and the Vietnamese community in Romania, looking forward to welcoming Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, who has spent a long time studying, researching and working in Romania, with extremely close feelings of attachment.
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| Vietnamese Ambassador to Romania Do Duc Thanh. (Source: Vietnamese Embassy in Romania) |
During the visit, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will discuss with Prime Minister Ion-Marcel Ciolacu and Romanian leaders measures to continue promoting cooperation, especially in new areas with great potential.
The leaders of the two countries will discuss measures to increase delegation exchanges at all levels, especially high-level delegation exchanges, and implement agreements reached at the 17th meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee on Economic Cooperation in Hanoi in November 2023.
The leaders of the two countries also discussed measures to promote bilateral trade and investment cooperation, especially in areas where the two sides have complementary strengths such as agricultural products - food, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment manufacturing, energy, etc., and coordinated the effective implementation of EVFTA, urging the EU to soon remove the IUU yellow card for Vietnam's seafood exports.
The two Prime Ministers will also discuss ways to further strengthen cooperation in the fields of defense and security, peacekeeping within the framework of the United Nations, cooperation in preventing transnational organized crime, and cooperation at multilateral forums.
In addition, the leaders of the two countries also discussed promoting cooperation in the fields of culture, education and training, tourism, justice, environment, information technology and communications, labor, and support for the Vietnamese community.
In particular, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Prime Minister Ion-Marcel Ciolacu will open the Vietnam - Romania Business Forum, meet with the business community, witness the signing of a series of cooperation documents, visit economic establishments, schools, research institutes, meet with some Romanian friends and the Vietnamese community in the host country...
It is known that Romania is one of the first three countries to ratify both the EVFTA and EVIPA agreements. So, according to the Ambassador, how will the two sides exploit this strength to further attract investment capital and promote trade between localities and businesses of the two countries?
Economic, trade and investment relations between Vietnam and Romania have developed very well, especially in recent times. For Vietnam, Romania is a traditional partner in Southeast Europe and a gateway to penetrate the markets of EU countries and the Western Balkans.
Romania is one of the first countries to ratify both the EVFTA and EVIPA agreements, the key to opening the door for Vietnam's trade and investment in the region. In 2022, in the context of an unfavorable world economy, bilateral trade turnover between Vietnam and Romania increased by more than 1.6 times compared to 2019, from 261 million to 425 million USD.
Enterprises of both countries need to be well prepared to take advantage of opportunities from tariff reductions according to the roadmap set out by EVFTA. After being ratified by all EU countries, EVIPA will have a complementary impact with EVFTA in attracting investment sources to promote trade exchanges in areas where both sides have strengths such as processed agricultural products, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, textile and garment materials, footwear, information technology products, etc.
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| Ambassador Do Duc Thanh attended the event organized by the ASEAN Committee in Bucharest. (Source: Embassy of Vietnam in Romania) |
With the prospect of Romania soon becoming a full member of the Schengen area, access to this market will open up opportunities to access the larger EU market. Up to now, a large proportion of Vietnamese goods imported into Romania still have to be transited through a third country. If Vietnamese goods are imported directly through Romania's Constanta port, the route can be shortened by 6 days compared to the traditional freight route through Western European ports at present.
Like Vietnam, Romania is in the process of strong economic transformation. In addition to large, pillar enterprises, small and medium enterprises play a key role in the Romanian economy, accounting for 90% of the total number of enterprises. Therefore, information work and business connection through fairs, exhibitions, seminars, and delegation exchanges to enhance mutual understanding and trust as well as explore business, trade, investment and cooperation opportunities play a very important role.
Strengthening direct relations between localities as well as promoting the establishment of a bilateral Vietnam-Romania chamber of commerce and industry are also among effective measures to inform and connect businesses of the two countries.
On the occasion of attending the Summit to celebrate the 45th anniversary of ASEAN-EU relations in Brussels in December 2022, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, discussing specific measures to expand cooperation between the two countries in new areas such as green economy, renewable energy, education and training... According to the Ambassador, how can the two sides promote cooperation in these areas with great potential?
The green economy, renewable energy, as well as education and training, must be areas of future cooperation between the two countries. Vietnam's determination in these areas is clear. Romania is also promoting the implementation of its ambitions regarding renewable energy targets and the development of low-carbon technologies, in order to achieve Romania's carbon neutrality goals, and is ready to cooperate with Vietnam in this area.
The two sides should encourage and promote the possibility of cooperation in technology transfer and investment in each country in the fields of high technology, information technology, energy, agriculture, and environmental protection. The two sides can consider supporting investment projects in the green sector as well as investment to modernize existing production facilities in the form of joint ventures.
The two sides need to establish a cooperative relationship, exchange experiences in the electricity sector, contribute to enhancing energy security at the national level, connect transmission with neighboring countries as well as operate the power system with a high proportion of renewable energy; cooperate in new investment projects to increase the contribution of renewable energy in the energy structure, including exploiting the offshore renewable energy potential in the Black Sea region, large-scale electricity storage facilities and using hydrogen for decarbonization.
The business communities of both sides need to promote cooperation in the fields of pharmaceutical processing, drug production, agriculture, veterinary medicine, development of electrical and electronic technical logistics repair services... in line with the trend of green development and sustainable consumption.
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| The Embassy of Vietnam and the Association of Vietnamese People in Romania celebrate their 30th anniversary on August 20, 2023. (Source: Embassy of Vietnam in Romania) |
The field of training is an area that needs to be prioritized for cooperation. Romania has an advanced education system, with prestige in many fields. Romania has trained about 3,000 cadres and experts for Vietnam (in the fields of business, information technology, music, architecture, construction, geology, petrochemicals, etc.).
Many of them have made great contributions to the development of Vietnam in recent times, and with their wholehearted love and loyalty for the country and people of Romania, they are an important bridge connecting the friendship between the two countries.
In addition to traditional industries, it is necessary to focus on strengthening training cooperation in the field of information technology, especially in the fields of technology application, infrastructure and broadband electronic communication networks, medicine, pharmacy, etc.
The two sides need to effectively exploit the Education Cooperation Program between the two countries (signed in April 2023), as well as thoroughly exploit other scholarship mechanisms, bringing more opportunities for students of the two countries, promoting connections, educational and cultural exchanges, and deepening the friendship between the two countries among the young generation.
Over the past seven decades, the relationship between the two countries has been maintained and developed positively. What are your expectations for the Vietnam-Romania relationship in the coming time, especially after the momentum from this visit of the Prime Minister?
I firmly believe that the visit will create a boost for the substantive relationship between the two countries, for the benefit of both sides. Hopefully, the relationship between the two countries will soon regain the momentum of previous years, after a period of "quietness" due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the complicated situation in the region, the world and the difficulties of the global economy.
In particular, the two sides will establish a mechanism to maintain regular political dialogue at all levels (high-level, parliamentary level, political consultation, coordination at international forums), people-to-people exchange, cultural - scientific - educational cooperation, enhance trade - investment exchanges, labor cooperation... to bring the relationship between the two countries to a new level.
That is the expectation and belief not only of me, but also of many Romanian friends who love Vietnam and Vietnamese friends who love Romania, placed in this visit of the Prime Minister.
I would like to express my strong belief that Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, with his deep affection for the Vietnam-Romania relationship, will have a successful visit, unleashing untapped potential.
Thank you very much Ambassador!
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