Vietnam always values developing the traditional friendly ties with countries in Central Eastern Europe, with Poland as a priority partner, President Tran Dai Quang told President of Poland Andrzej Duda during their talks in Hanoi on November 28.

President Tran Dai Quang (R) and Polish President Andrzej Duda (Source: VNA)

The talks took place following the welcome ceremony held the same day.

President Duda, who is in a State visit from November 27-30, affirmed that Poland wants to nurture mutually beneficial ties with Vietnam in perse areas.

Both sides agreed to facilitate the exchange of all-level visits via the State, government, National Assembly, business and local channels.

They spoke highly of close and effective coordination between the two nations on international arena. The Vietnamese President congratulated Poland on being elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2018-2019 tenure.

Duda expressed his support for Vietnam’s run for a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2020-2021 tenure and the early signing and ratification of the European Union – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

The two leaders highly appreciated considerable progress of bilateral links across economy-trade-investment over the past years. Poland is now Vietnam’s largest trade partner in Central Eastern Europe while Vietnam is Poland’s seventh largest trade partner outside the EU. Two-way trade hit a record US$790 million last year, and reached US$730 million in the nine months this year, up 25% annually.

Poland’s total investment in Vietnam doubled to US$189 million from 2014-2017.

In the near future, Poland will soon disburse an official development assistance package worth EUR 250 million to Vietnam in line with a framework agreement on financial cooperation signed during the visit.

The two countries will actively realise the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on economic cooperation, firstly facilitating the inauguration of the representative office of the Polish Investment and Trade Agency in Ho Chi Minh City, thereby encouraging the two countries’ businesses to seek opportunities in fields of Poland’s strength and Vietnam’s demand such as mining, food processing, pharmaceuticals and environment protection.

They underscored the importance of boosting national defence-security ties and pledged to share experience in overcoming the consequences of bombs and mines and the UN peacekeeping mission.

Host and guest spoke highly of the signing of a tertiary education cooperation agreement with the increase in scholarships to the two nations’ students and graduates to 20 per year and a letter of intent on opening Polish language training courses between the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education and Hanoi University.

They promised to restore the Vietnam-Poland Joint Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation mechanism and convene its meeting next year.

The two Presidents welcomed the signing of a MoU on environment protection cooperation and consented to reinforce joint work in the treatment of garbage and wastewater and green technology.

President Quang hailed Poland for adding Vietnam into its list of 14 priority agriculture export markets and the signing of the MoU on agriculture collaboration during the visit.

He thanked the Polish State and government for providing all possible support for Vietnamese nationals living in the country.

Following the talks, both leaders convened a press conference and witnessed the signing of the above memoranda of understanding, a MoU on cooperation between Vietnam News Agency and the Polish Press Agency, and a contract on pharmaceuticals investment between Dat Vi Phu Vietnam company and the Adamed Group of Poland.

Later, both sides issued a joint statement on the outcomes of the visit./.

VNF/NDO