Vietnam Hopes Slovenia Accelerate Ratification of EVIPA Soon

Vietnamese Ambassador to Slovenia Nguyen Trung Kien (L, first) meets Ambassador Igor Jukic, director general in charge of multilateral diplomacy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia. Photo: VNA

Vietnamese Ambassador to Slovenia Nguyen Trung Kien had working sessions with representatives of the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and agencies on Nov. 22-23 to discuss measures to promote cooperation between the two countries, reported VNA on Nov. 25

During a meeting with Ambassador Igor Jukic, director general in charge of multilateral diplomacy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kien thanked the ministry for coordinating with the Vietnamese side to arrange a meeting between President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Slovenian President Borut Pahor on the sidelines of the 76th United Nations General Assembly in September this year.

The Vietnamese diplomat expressed his hope that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will support and coordinate with the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology to accelerate the ratification of the EU – Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).

He suggested the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to coordinate with its Vietnamese counterpart in organising a political consultation in 2022 and creating conditions for the two sides to discuss orientations for promoting cooperation between the two foreign ministries in the coming time.

Regarding cooperation at multilateral forums, Kien thanked Slovenia for supporting Ambassador Nguyen Hong Thao's re-election to the United Nations International Law Commission in the 2023-2027 term and for backing Vietnam to join the Executive Board of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in the 2021-2025 term.

Jukic affirmed that cooperation between Vietnam and Slovenia over the past time has witnessed remarkable results despite the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

He highly valued Vietnam's contributions to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHCR) in the 2014-2016 term and revealed that Slovenia will run for a seat in the UNHCR in 2023-2025.

At his meeting with representatives of the authority of the Port of Koper, Kien said that with its advantages in terms of geographical location and preferential services, the Port of Koper will be a potential destination for Vietnamese goods in the near future.

He proposed the port’s authority to coordinate with the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) of Slovenia to include the content of logistics cooperation at the port in the agenda of the third session of the Inter-governmental Slovenia–Vietnam Commission for economic-trade and scientific-technological cooperation which was scheduled to take place in 2022.

Ambassador Nguyen Trung Kien worked with the Koper Port Authority. Photo: TGTV

On this occasion, a seminar on the possibility of logistics cooperation through the Port of Koper was organised, attracting many Slovenian logistics service providers, Vietnamese enterprises and importers of Vietnamese goods in the Slovenia and Austria markets.

At the event, the Slovenian Chamber of Commerce and the Port Authority affirmed that if the Covid-19 situation turns positive, Slovenia will organize a business delegation providing logistics services to work in Ho Chi Minh City to promote the possibility of cooperation in importing goods into the EU market through Koper Port.

Koper is the nearest seaport connecting European countries with Asia by sea route through the Mediterranean Sea and through the Suez Canal. The maritime route from Vietnam to Koper is about 2,000 nautical miles shorter than other major seaports in Western Europe such as Rotterdam, Hamburg, saving about 7-10 days, with cheaper shipping and logistics costs.

This is a huge competitive advantage of Koper in the context of maritime transport being strongly impacted by Covid-19.

The EU is now one of the leading trade partners of Vietnam with two-way trade reaching USD 49.6 billion in 2020, with Vietnam’s exports of USD 34.9 billion.

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc had meetings with many foreign leaders included President of Slovenia Borut Pahour shortly after he arrived in New York on Sep. 21 (local time) for the General Debate of the UN General Assembly’s 76th session (UNGA 76).

The two leaders also exchanged views on the transfer of production technology for Covid-19 treatment medicine for Vietnam and negotiations on the recognition of each other’s vaccination certificate and passport, paving the way for the travel of their citizens when international air routes resume.

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