Austrian Foreign Minister Schallenberg to visit Vietnam next week
VOV.VN - The Federal Minister for European and International Affairs of Austria Alexander Schallenberg will pay an official visit to Vietnam from April 16-18 at the invitation of Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam.
The visit takes place at a time when the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries have witnessed positive developments over the years. Both countries have maintained regular reciprocal visit exchanges to outline orientations for bilateral cooperation, and at the same time have supported each other at multilateral forums.
Austria is one of Vietnam’s export markets in Europe, with their two-way trade last year hitting US$2.79 billion. Currently, Austria ranks 44 out of 141 foreign investors in Vietnam, with 41 valid projects valued at US$148 million.
Vietnam and Austria signed a finance cooperation agreement in 2015 under which the Austrian government pledged US$100 million in preferential capital for Vietnam from August 2019 to August 2023, and financed ODA projects in the fields of health care, firefighting, education-training, environment, among others.
Schallenberg’s visit expected to ramp up cooperation in existing fields, including ecnomy, education-training, science-technology, labour, culture, tourism, and expand cooperation in other fields such as renewable energy and climate change response.
During the visit, the two Foreign Ministers will hold talks on measures to boost cooperation between the two countries and two ministries in Hanoi on April 17. Schallenberg is scheduled to attend a Vietnam – Austria business forum in Hanoi, meet with several Vietnamese ministers, and visit a number of economic establishments in the city.