Creating new momentum for Vietnam-Romania relations to become increasingly deeper, more effective and more substantive

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that Vietnam wishes to further promote cooperation with Romania, for the strength and prosperity of each country and the happiness and well-being of the people of the two countries.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Romanian Prime Minister Ion Marcel Ciolacu hold a press conference. (Source: VNA)

On the morning of January 22 (local time), in the capital Bucharest, Romania, right after the successful talks, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Romanian Prime Minister Ion Marcel Ciolacu witnessed the signing ceremony of cooperation documents between the two countries, and held a joint press conference to announce the results of the talks.

In front of officials and a large number of journalists from both countries, Prime Minister Ion Marcel Ciolacu said Romania was very pleased to welcome Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh - a friend who studied and worked in Romania for many years.

Reviewing the cooperation between Vietnam and Romania, Prime Minister Ion Marcel Ciolacu said that it is time to take the relationship between the two countries to a new level. In particular, Romania will act as a bridge between Vietnam and the European Union (EU); in return, Vietnam will act as a bridge between Romania and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with the goal of further promoting economic, trade and investment cooperation so that two-way trade turnover will soon reach 1 billion USD in the coming years.

According to Prime Minister Ion Marcel Ciolacu, the two sides agreed to promote and create more favorable conditions for goods from the two countries to enter each other's markets. In particular, Romania wishes to export to Vietnam goods in which Romania has strengths such as agricultural products, pharmaceutical industry; proposes to support existing projects, promote new investment cooperation projects.

Prime Minister Ion Marcel Ciolacu thanked Vietnam for supporting Romania in providing African swine fever vaccines; wished to cooperate with Vietnam in producing African swine fever vaccines in Romania to supply to the Romanian market in particular and Europe in general; said the two sides also agreed to strengthen cooperation in the fields of energy, education and training, etc.

The Romanian Prime Minister said that the biggest obstacle between the two countries is the geographical distance. However, with high determination, the two countries have many solutions to overcome that obstacle, promoting the relationship between the two countries to new heights in the coming time.

Agreeing with the opinion of the Romanian Prime Minister, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh respectfully thanked Prime Minister Ion Marcel Ciolacu and his Romanian friends for the warm and respectful reception given to the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation visiting Romania this time.

On behalf of the leaders of the Party, State and people of Vietnam, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh expressed his gratitude for the wholehearted and meaningful assistance that the State and people of Romania have given to Vietnam over the past 75 years, especially during the previous resistance war as well as in recent socio-economic development. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that Vietnam wishes to further promote cooperation with Romania, for the strength and prosperity of each country and the happiness and well-being of the people of the two countries.

The Prime Minister expressed his pleasure to witness and congratulate Romania on the great successes it has achieved in national development and European integration, contributing to enhancing Romania's position in the region and the world.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that his official visit to Romania this time aims to convey a strong message of determination to strengthen political trust between the two countries; create new momentum for the traditional friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Romania in the coming period to become increasingly deeper, more effective and more substantial; and at the same time expand cooperation opportunities in new areas, towards self-reliance and sustainable development, actively contributing to peace, stability and development in the region and the world.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh holds talks with Romanian Prime Minister Ion Marcel Ciolacu. (Source: VNA)

At the press conference, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that he and Prime Minister Ion Marcel Ciolacu had just had a very successful meeting. In the spirit of trust and mutual understanding, the two sides agreed on the orientation and measures to promote cooperation in bilateral relations as well as discussed regional and international issues of mutual concern.

The two sides agreed that the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Romania over the past seven decades have been continuously cared for, nurtured and actively developed in many fields by generations of leaders and people of the two countries.

Political relations at a high level of trust are constantly strengthened through maintaining regular contacts and exchanges of high-level delegations. Economic and trade cooperation between the two countries has developed dynamically. Bilateral cooperation in the fields of education - training, culture, cooperation between localities... continues to develop well; the two sides closely coordinate and support each other at multilateral forums, international and inter-regional organizations, contributing to peace, security and development issues in the region and the world.

On behalf of the Government and people of Vietnam, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh sincerely thanked Romania, the first EU member country to make a noble gesture of supporting hundreds of thousands of doses of vaccines and medical equipment to prevent and fight Covid-19 for Vietnam at the most difficult time, helping Vietnam to quickly overcome the Covid-19 pandemic to open up and recover the economy. Romania played an active role in signing the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and was one of the first EU countries to ratify the Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).

The Prime Minister said that the two sides have agreed to continue to promote contacts and exchanges of delegations at all levels, especially at high levels, through all channels to enhance political trust and mutual understanding, creating a foundation for promoting and expanding bilateral cooperation in all fields. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hopes that Prime Minister Ion Marcel Ciolacu will soon visit Vietnam, as well as welcome other high-ranking Romanian leaders to visit Vietnam in the near future.

The two sides further promoted bilateral cooperation mechanisms, especially the Vietnam-Romania Intergovernmental Committee on Economic Cooperation; continued to fully and effectively implement the EVFTA and EVIPA. The Prime Minister asked Romania to actively support the remaining EU member states to ratify the EVIPA; and urged the European Commission (EC) to soon remove the “yellow card” warning for Vietnamese seafood products.

Considering that education and training is a traditional field of good cooperation between the two countries, the two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in training and research between universities of the two countries in the fields of high technology, information technology, agriculture, medicine, etc.

Along with that, promoting cultural, sports and tourism cooperation to enhance understanding, connection and people-to-people exchange between the two countries; as well as continuing to strengthen effective cooperation in other fields such as science and technology, information and communication, agriculture, labor, cooperation between localities...

The Prime Minister said that the two sides agreed to continue to coordinate closely and effectively at the United Nations, ASEM, ASEAN, and the EU to jointly address regional and global challenges.

Regarding regional and international issues, including the East Sea issue, the two sides agreed to support the settlement of disputes by peaceful means, in accordance with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS); and support the negotiation process on a substantive and effective Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

The Prime Minister affirmed that now is the time for the two sides to promote cooperation. The biggest obstacle between the two countries is the geographical distance. However, this obstacle can be overcome by well-organizing digital transformation, e-commerce and modern means of transport... to connect the two economies, increase people-to-people exchanges, promote tourism...

On this occasion, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh sincerely thanked the Government and people of Romania for creating favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community in Romania to live, integrate well into the host society and serve as a bridge for the friendly relations between the two countries.

The Prime Minister deeply believes that, with the understanding, political trust and solid foundation that has been continuously cultivated over the past 75 years, along with the great efforts of the Governments and peoples of the two countries, the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Romania will increasingly develop deeply, widely and effectively, bringing prosperity and happiness to the people of the two countries.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Romanian Prime Minister Ion Marcel Ciolacu witnessed the signing ceremony of cooperation documents between Vietnam and Romania. (Source: VNA)

Earlier, right after the talks, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Prime Minister Ion Marcel Ciolacu witnessed the signing ceremony and exchange of 19 cooperation documents between ministries, branches and agencies of the two countries, including: Memorandum of Understanding on promoting cooperation and exchanging issues of concern in the economic field between the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam and the Ministry of Economy, Enterprise and Tourism of Romania; Cooperation program between the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam and the Ministry of Culture of Romania; Memorandum of Understanding on labor and social security cooperation between the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Vietnam and the Ministry of Labor and Social Solidarity of Romania; Cooperation agreement on friendly relations between Ninh Binh city, Ninh Binh province and Buzias city, Timis province of Romania; and 15 cooperation agreements and memorandums of understanding between academies and universities of Vietnam and Romania.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/tao-xung-luc-moi-cho-quan-he-viet-nam-romania-ngay-cang-di-vao-chieu-sau-hieu-qua-va-thuc-chat-258378.html