With the decision to upgrade relations, the Czech Republic became the first Central Eastern European country in the European Union (EU) to have a Strategic Partnership with Vietnam.

According to VNA special correspondent, at the invitation of Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will pay an official visit to the Czech Republic from January 18-20.

On the morning of January 20, after the solemn official welcoming ceremony at the Prime Minister's Office, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met and held talks with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala.

At the talks, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala warmly welcomed Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the Vietnamese High-Level Delegation, emphasizing that Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit marked a new milestone in the bilateral relationship, which was the upgrading of the relationship to a Strategic Partnership on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations (1950-2025), opening a new page in the good traditional relationship between Vietnam and the Czech Republic, when Vietnam became the first Southeast Asian country to be a strategic partner of the Czech Republic, contributing to promoting the relationship between the two countries in depth, substance and effectiveness; affirming that Vietnam is the most important and closest country of the Czech Republic in Asia.

Prime Minister Petr Fiala expressed his admiration and respect for Vietnam's socio-economic development achievements and shared special feelings and good impressions about his official visit to Vietnam in 2023.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh expressed his joy to return to the Czech Republic and each time he comes, he feels the historical and cultural breath of Prague, the diamond of European capitals.

The Prime Minister thanked Prime Minister Petr Fiala and the Czech Government for the warm and cordial reception given to the high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese Government, expressed his joy at the socio-economic achievements the Czech Republic has made and believed that the Czech Republic will continue to develop more strongly in the coming time.

The Prime Minister respectfully conveyed the greetings of General Secretary To Lam, President Luong Cuong and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man to Prime Minister Petr Fiala and senior Czech leaders; emphasizing that the Vietnamese people always remember the sincere, wholehearted, selfless and pure assistance that the Czech Republic has given to Vietnam in the past struggle for national liberation, as well as in the current national construction and development.

The Prime Minister affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to and wishes to strengthen relations with the Czech Republic, a traditional friend and top priority partner of Vietnam in Central and Eastern Europe.

In an atmosphere of trust and frankness, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Prime Minister Petr Fiala had a comprehensive discussion on the socio-economic situation of each country, bilateral cooperation and regional and international issues of mutual concern, and said that the two countries still have a lot of room to develop relations.

The two leaders expressed their delight at the positive developments in relations between the two countries, especially in politics-diplomacy, security-defense, trade-investment, and education.

The two sides agreed to increase delegation exchanges at all levels, especially high-level ones, through Party, State, Government and National Assembly channels.

The two leaders agreed to declare the upgrading of Vietnam-Czech relations to a Strategic Partnership and soon develop an Action Program to implement the Vietnam-Czech Strategic Partnership framework in depth, practically, and in line with the cooperation framework between the two countries in the new context.

With this decision, the Czech Republic becomes the first Central Eastern European country in the European Union (EU) to have a strategic partnership with Vietnam.

The two sides agreed to promote cooperation within the framework of the newly established Strategic Partnership, including signed agreements between the two countries, to promote cooperation in traditional areas such as defense-security, trade-investment, science-technology, education-training, culture-tourism and people-to-people exchange, and at the same time expand cooperation to areas that create new growth drivers such as renewable energy, innovation, digital transformation, green and circular economy, information technology, health care, mining, energy, food security, etc.; affirming the commitment of the two countries' senior leaders to further promote cooperation in areas where both sides have strengths and needs in the spirit of doing what they said, doing what they committed to, for the benefit of the people of the two countries, for peace, stability and sustainable development in each region and the world.

Regarding trade and investment, the two sides agreed to continue implementing existing economic cooperation mechanisms; encourage Czech enterprises to increase investment in Vietnam, especially in areas where the Czech Republic has strengths such as auto support industry, renewable energy, machine manufacturing, mineral exploitation and processing, chemicals, food processing, etc.; and coordinate to effectively implement the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

The Prime Minister proposed that the Czech Government support the remaining EU countries in promptly ratifying the Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), support the European Commission (EC) in promptly removing the IUU “yellow card” for Vietnam’s seafood exports, taking into account Vietnam’s serious efforts in fully implementing the EC’s recommendations on sustainable fisheries development, as well as the interests of Czech and EU consumers. The two sides agreed to support and act as a gateway for each other’s goods to enter the markets of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the EU.

Prime Minister Petr Fiala was pleased to note that the traditional friendship between Vietnam and the Czech Republic with a history of 75 years has achieved good results; congratulated Vietnam on its socio-economic development achievements, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic; assessed Vietnam as one of the Czech Republic's most potential markets in Asia-Pacific, with more and more Czech enterprises interested in expanding investment and business in Vietnam.

Prime Minister Petr Fiala agreed that the two sides need to strengthen cooperation in the fields of food industry, manufacturing industry, mining and mineral processing...; agreed with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's proposal to soon open direct flights between the two countries and via the Czech Republic to Central and Eastern Europe to enhance people-to-people exchange and tourism.

Prime Minister Petr Fiala appreciated Vietnam's decision to exempt visas for Czech citizens in 2025, saying that this will be a boost to enhance tourism cooperation and people-to-people exchange.

Prime Minister Petr Fiala proposed that the Vietnamese Government support the establishment of a Czech cultural center in Vietnam, considering this an important channel to help enhance understanding between the people of the two countries.

The two Prime Ministers asked relevant ministries and sectors of the two countries to coordinate to thoroughly prepare for the 8th meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee on Economic Cooperation.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh thanked Prime Minister Petr Fiala and the Czech Government for their attention and proposed to continue creating favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic to live, work and study stably in the Czech Republic, contributing to bridging friendship and cooperation between the two peoples.

The Czech Prime Minister highly appreciated the role of the Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic, considering it an important bridge between the two countries; affirmed his agreement with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's proposal, and will continue to create favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community to live and work in the Czech Republic.

The two leaders said that in a changing and challenging world, the two sides shared the awareness of all-people, global, and comprehensive approaches and agreed that the two countries need to strengthen solidarity.

The two sides affirmed to continue to closely coordinate and support each other at multilateral forums and international organizations, contributing to ensuring peace, security, cooperation and development in the region and the world.

Discussing regional and international issues of mutual concern, including the East Sea issue, the two sides agreed that disputes and conflicts in the world need to be resolved by peaceful means, on the basis of the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter and international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), contributing to maintaining peace, stability, security, safety, freedom of navigation and aviation in the regions and the world, for global cooperation and prosperity.

The two leaders highly appreciated the importance of defense-security cooperation and agreed to promote cooperation in peacekeeping operations within the framework of the United Nations, military trade, defense industry, pilot training; increase delegation exchanges to share experiences and coordinate in crime prevention, especially organized, transnational, high-tech crimes, illegal migration, drugs, etc.

On this occasion, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh respectfully invited Prime Minister Petr Fiala to visit Vietnam again soon. Prime Minister Petr Fiala happily accepted the invitation.

After the talks, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Prime Minister Petr Fiala witnessed the handover ceremony of a number of cooperation documents between the two countries in the fields of education and aviation.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Prime Minister Petr Fiala held a joint press conference to announce the results of the talks.

In front of officials and the press of the two countries, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said that the visit to the Czech Republic by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, his wife and the Vietnamese High-Level Delegation was of great significance on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the bilateral relationship; the two sides had open and friendly talks and agreed to upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership, thereby demonstrating the Czech Republic's appreciation of Vietnam's position and role in the region, as the Czech Republic's most important partner in Southeast Asia.

Believing that the potential for cooperation between the two countries is still very large, Prime Minister Petr Fiala believes that both sides will take advantage of opportunities and make efforts to promote cooperation through specific programs and projects, so that the relationship between the two countries will develop further.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh once again thanked Prime Minister Petr Fiala and the Government and people of the Czech Republic for the warm, sincere and thoughtful reception given to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the Vietnamese delegation.

According to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, the world is undergoing a process of diversification, greening, and digitalization and is facing many challenges such as climate change, population aging, strategic competition, conflicts, etc. These are issues that affect the entire population, comprehensively, and globally, so there must be a comprehensive, global, and national approach.

The two sides must renew traditional areas of cooperation and promote new areas of cooperation for the benefit of the two countries and their peoples, and for peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world.

Informing about the results of the talks between the two sides, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that although the time is short, the work is large, the scope of cooperation is wide, and the subjects are diverse, Vietnam will strive to realize this cooperation framework for the benefit of the two peoples, two countries, and for peace, cooperation, and development in the region and the world, with the motto "what is said is done, what is committed is implemented effectively," "respecting time, intelligence, and determination" so that the set goals become reality./.