Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attends the Vietnam

According to the special correspondent of VNA, during his official visit to the Czech Republic, on the morning of January 20 (local time), in the capital city of Prague, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended the Vietnam - Czech Business Forum.

Also attending the forum were Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen; ministers, leaders of ministries, branches, agencies and many businesses from Vietnam and the Czech Republic.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at the Vietnam-Czech Business Forum. Photo: Duong Giang/VNA

After 75 years of establishment, Vietnam - Czech relations have developed well. In particular, bilateral economic and trade relations have developed remarkably. The Czech Republic is Vietnam's leading trade partner in Central Eastern Europe, while Vietnam is the Czech Republic's most important partner in ASEAN.

Trade turnover between the two countries has recently grown strongly, reaching about 2 billion USD in 2024. Currently, the Czech Republic has 41 investment projects with a total investment capital of 91 million USD in Vietnam. The Czech Republic's strong investment cooperation areas are energy, locomotives and carriages, buses, electric trains, agricultural machinery, irrigation equipment, etc.

At the forum, the two sides reviewed the economic cooperation situation between Vietnam and the Czech Republic, in which they assessed that the economic, trade and investment relations between Vietnam and the Czech Republic are not commensurate with the political relations between the two countries, nor are they commensurate with the desires, potentials, strengths, outstanding opportunities and competitive advantages of each country.

The two sides introduced the potential, strengths, and cooperation needs of each side; in particular, discussed and proposed solutions to promote cooperation in the fields of economics, trade, and investment, especially in sectors such as mechanics, metallurgy, energy, transportation, labor, tourism, agriculture, processing industry, especially emerging sectors such as innovation, information technology, digital transformation, green transformation, transport connectivity, mining, etc.

Delegates hope that the two governments will consider opening a direct flight route between Vietnam and the Czech Republic to create more favorable conditions for trade, tourism cooperation, culture, and people-to-people exchange.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attends the Vietnam - Czech Business Forum. Photo: Duong GiangVNA

Speaking at the Forum, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that over the past 75 years, the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and the Czech Republic have been continuously developed and strengthened. Vietnam always remembers the wholehearted, righteous, selfless, pure, and extremely valuable support and assistance, both material and spiritual, from the Czech people in the past struggle to defend the Fatherland and in the future cause of national construction and defense, especially the Czech Republic's recognition of the Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic as a Czech ethnic minority.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that during his official visit to the Czech Republic this time, aiming to promote the relationship between the two countries to a new level, practically celebrating the 75th anniversary of the good traditional friendship between Vietnam and the Czech Republic, Vietnam has officially unilaterally exempted visas for Czech citizens entering Vietnam, initially in 2025.

Analyzing the situation, difficulties, challenges, opportunities, advantages and the trend of greening, diversification and digitalization in the world, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that to facilitate sustainable business development, Vietnam considers economic development as the central task; building an independent, self-reliant and resilient economy associated with proactive and active international integration, deeply, substantially and effectively.
Vietnam is implementing three strategic breakthroughs: perfecting institutions, especially market economic institutions; developing a strategic infrastructure system, including hard and soft infrastructure; training and developing human resources, especially high-quality human resources, with the goal of transparent mechanisms, smooth infrastructure, smart people and governance. At the same time, reforming administrative procedures, improving the investment and business environment, creating conditions for enterprises to invest and do business more effectively in Vietnam.

Vietnam promotes development based on science and technology, innovation to achieve double-digit growth in the coming time; renews traditional growth drivers, promotes new growth drivers, including the policy of attracting investment in green energy, green infrastructure, climate change prevention; green economy, digital economy, knowledge economy, circular economy, night-time economy, etc.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at the Vietnam – Czech Republic Business Forum. Photo: Duong Giang/VNA

Currently, Vietnam is actively promoting transport infrastructure connections with the Czech Republic, including reconnecting the railway line, and especially promoting direct flights from Vietnam to the Czech Republic, in the form of a multi-destination route.

Based on high political trust, the aspiration to rise on the basis of peace and development, sharing core community values in society, economy and market with complementary nature..., Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that the space for cooperation and development of enterprises and investors on both sides is very large; suggested that enterprises of both sides cooperate and connect to continue diversifying products, diversifying production chains, diversifying supply chains, especially in emerging industries such as semiconductor chips, big data, internet of things, cloud computing, cyber security, biomedicine, optics... making the most of the Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and other cooperation mechanisms, soon increasing two-way trade turnover to 5 billion USD and increasing Czech investment capital in Vietnam to 2-3 billion USD in the coming time.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hopes that in the coming time, the investment sector between the two countries will have strategic breakthroughs, especially in key areas that both sides are interested in and prioritize, such as the automobile industry, fundamental industries, transportation, and energy; thereby renewing traditional growth drivers and promoting new growth drivers.

We hope that businesses of the two countries will promote connections with each other, connect the two economies, connect investments, connect trade, with the viewpoints of "harmonious benefits, shared risks", "listening and understanding together, sharing vision and action together, doing together, winning together, enjoying together, developing together, sharing joy, happiness and pride", "saying is doing, committing to doing effectively" to contribute to bringing the Vietnam - Czech relationship to increasingly deeper, more substantial and effective; the relationship between the two countries will forever be green, forever sustainable.

Immediately after the Forum, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh witnessed the signing of cooperation agreements on training and music performance between the Vietnam National Academy of Music and the Bohemian Symphony Orchestra Prague; and a strategic cooperation agreement between the Hanoi Police Club and Slavia Prague Club on training young players, exchanging technical expertise, and organizing international friendly matches.

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