Czech PM Petr Fiala and Vietnamese PM Pham Minh Chinh signed an upgrade to the two countries’ strategic partnership, during a bilateral meeting in Prague yesterday. After the meeting, the two Prime Ministers said they hoped the agreement would strengthen trade relations as well as leading to closer cooperation in science and research.
The countries are moving to a new level of partnership in the year marking 75 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, they added.
Fiala (ODS) said he sees new space for Czech petrochemical companies in the expansion of Vietnamese refineries, in technologies for nuclear energy or medicine, and also in biotechnology. He mentioned yesterday’s Czech-Vietnamese economic forum, which was attended by representatives of 130 companies from both countries, and cited the establishment of a direct air connection between Prague and Hanoi as a priority.
According to Fiala, the agreement on higher education signed yesterday will allow for the exchange of students and academic researchers. Fiala described the agreement on pilot training as an example of cooperation.
Yesterday’s meeting in Prague followed Fiala’s visit to Hanoi two years ago, when he also mentioned the huge potential for trade cooperation with Vietnam. The countries are cooperating in car production, with Skoda Auto expected to start production at a new plant in Vietnam in the first quarter of this year. There is also cooperation between the countries in the defence, mining and aerospace industries. Vietnam is the Czech Republic’s most important trading partner in the region.
Yesterday, Fiala and Pham Minh Chinh also discussed the opening of a Czech centre in Hanoi, as there is great interest in Czech film, literature and art in the country, he said.
Yesterday morning, Fiala welcomed Pham Minh Chinh in the Government Office in Prague, where Pham Minh Chinh and members of his cabinet discussed bilateral economic cooperation.
Simultaneously, Prague was playing host to the Czech-Vietnamese business forum.
Last autumn, the Czech Republic proposed a strategic partnership deal to Vietnam. Senate President Milos Vystrcil (ODS) said at the time that the signing could take place during a planned visit of a top Vietnamese official to Prague.
Currently, the trade balance is favourable for Vietnam, which has a socialist-oriented market economy. Last year, according to the Czech Statistical Office, CZK 63 billion worth of goods, mainly electronics and footwear, flowed into the Czech Republic from Vietnam, while Czech exports to Vietnam amounted to about CZK 3 billion. Fiala said he wants to promote exports to achieve a more balanced ratio.
