Vietnam and the Czech Republic agree to continue developing comprehensive relations

At the invitation of Mr. Milos Zeman, President of the Czech Republic, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Truong Tan Sang paid a State visit to the Czech Republic from May 10-13.

During the visit, President Truong Tan Sang held talks with President Milos Zeman, met with Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka, Speaker of the House of Representatives Jan Hamacek and President of the Senate Milan Stech.

President Truong Tan Sang meets with Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka. (Photo: Nguyen Khang/VNA)

The two sides issued a 10-point Joint Statement. VNA would like to introduce the full text of the Joint Statement:

1.The bilateral meetings took place in an atmosphere of friendship and mutual understanding. On the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, both sides expressed satisfaction with the historic friendship, which has been actively demonstrated through extensive political dialogue and bilateral activities in many fields.

The two sides informed each other about the political, socio-economic situation of each country; jointly assessed bilateral relations; discussed each side's foreign policy priorities; agreed on specific measures to strengthen bilateral relations; and exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual concern.

2.The two sides expressed satisfaction with the regular exchange of high-level visits as well as delegations at ministerial, sectoral, National Assembly and local levels, which demonstrated the political determination and efforts of the two sides in further strengthening the traditional friendship and cooperation in the fields of economics, trade, investment, science-technology, education, culture and other fields.

3.President Truong Tan Sang affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to developing friendly relations and multifaceted cooperation with traditional friends in the Central Eastern European region, of which the Czech Republic is a priority.

For his part, President Milos Zeman welcomed Vietnam's achievements in economic and social innovation and appreciated Vietnam's willingness to act as a bridge to support the Czech Republic in strengthening relations with ASEAN and the Association's member countries.

4.The two leaders expressed satisfaction with the existing legal framework between the two countries and agreed to support the completion of this framework in areas of mutual interest to further promote cooperation between the two countries.

In that spirit, the two sides hope that the Agreement on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons, the Agreement on Combating Crime and the Agreement on Cooperation in the Fields of Culture, Education, Science, Youth and Sports between the two countries will be signed soon. The current cooperation between the competent agencies in combating crime and drugs will be enhanced.

5.The two sides agreed to further strengthen economic, trade and investment relations and said that there are still many potentials and business opportunities between the two countries that have not been exploited.

Both sides affirmed their readiness to create all favorable conditions for market research and seeking investment and business opportunities in areas where both sides have strengths or master high technology.

The two sides also agreed to strengthen innovation cooperation in the fields of science and technology.

6.President Truong Tan Sang appreciated the Czech Republic's bilateral development assistance to Vietnam and proposed expanding cooperation to the fields of environmental technology, afforestation, waste management, climate change adaptation, water supply and drainage, public health, human resource training, insurance system reform and hospital construction.

7.The Czech Republic and Vietnam agreed to increase experience exchange and cooperation at international forums, including those on regional and international security issues, counter-terrorism, and climate change; and consider supporting each other's candidacy for membership in international organizations.

The two sides also agreed to continue contributing to maintaining peace and stability in the region and the world; and to resolve disputes by peaceful means on the basis of international law.

8.On the basis of the good traditional friendship and cooperation between the two countries, the Czech Republic will continue to support Vietnam's efforts to promote the comprehensive partnership and cooperation between Vietnam and the European Union (EU).

In this regard, the two sides welcomed the Czech side’s completion of the necessary internal procedures for the Partnership and Cooperation Framework Agreement (PCA) to come into effect. The two leaders expressed their support for the early completion of negotiations on the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

9.President Truong Tan Sang thanked the government and people of the Czech Republic for creating favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community to live, work and do business in the Czech Republic.

The Vietnamese side highly appreciated the Czech Republic's recognition of Czech citizens of Vietnamese origin as an ethnic minority group, which demonstrates the positive development and integration capacity of the Vietnamese community, creating a solid foundation for the community to make more positive contributions to the development of the Czech Republic as well as to strengthening the traditional friendship between the two countries.

10.On this occasion, President Truong Tan Sang invited President Milos Zeman to make a State visit to Vietnam at an appropriate time./.

According to VNA