Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis welcomes Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc

During talks between Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his Czech counterpart Andrej Babis in Prague on Wednesday, both agreed to boost cooperation in national security, defense, mining and tourism. Prime Minister Babis agreed to urge the EU early finalization of the signing of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the Investment Protection Agreement in the next 1 or 2 months. They emphasized on the importance of peace, security, navigation and aviation safety and freedom in the East Sea while settling disputes by peaceful means in line with international law, especially the UN Charter and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. After talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of memorandums of understanding for cooperation in mining, and measurement standards and quality. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc told the press: “Vietnam appreciates the Czech Republic’s support for the EU’s early signing and ratification of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement and Investment Protection Agreement before the EU Parliament election. Those agreements are strategically important for trade between Vietnam and the EU, facilitating the Czech businesses access to a market of 90 million people as well as cooperation in finance and banking, telecoms and public procurement.”     

The Czech Prime Minister underlined the traditional relationship and effective cooperation between the two countries with two-way trade totaling more than 1 billion USD and Vietnam being the Czech Republic’s 3^rd largest trade partner in ASEAN.