Fresh impetus to Vietnam – Romania relations

Ambassador Thanh shed light on the significance of the visit in an interview granted to VOV ahead of the PM’s visit.

VOV: What are the major highlights of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s visit to Romania, Ambassador?

Amb. Thanh: The visit aims to demonstrate Vietnam’s desire to continue promoting and deepening the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation, with Romania. It will kick-start a number of activities to mark 75 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries in 2025.

During the visit, Prime Minister Chinh will discuss with his Romania counterpart and other senior Romanian leaders measures to further increase bilateral cooperation, especially in potential fields. The two sides will examine measures to increase reciprocal visit exchanges, effectively implement agreements reached at the 17th meeting of the Vietnam – Romania Intergovernmental Committee on Economic Cooperation in Hanoi in November 2023, and boost bilateral trade and investment cooperation, especially in areas where the two sides have complementary strengths such as agricultural products and food processing, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment production, and renewable energy.

They will also seek to enhance cooperation in other fields such as culture, education - training, tourism, justice, environment, information and communication technology, labour, defense - security.

They will vow to effectively implement the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), urge the EU to soon remove the yellow card on Vietnam’s seafood exports, and support the Vietnamese community in Romania.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Prime Minister Ion-Marcel Ciolacu will open the Vietnam - Romania Business Forum, meet the business community, and witness the signing of a series of cooperation documents. PM Chinh will also visit a number of economic establishments, schools, and research institutes, and meet with some Romanian friends and representatives of the Vietnamese community in Romania.

VOV: Romania is one of the countries that strongly supported Vietnam in ratifying the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA). So, how do you evaluate the prospects for cooperation between the two countries, especially in economy, in the coming time?

Amb. Thanh: In fact, Romania was one of the first three countries to ratify the EVFTA and the EVIPA. This is the key to opening the door for strengthening bilateral economic, trade and investment cooperation, creating momentum for the two countries to reach out to larger markets such as the Western Balkans, the EU and ASEAN. From now until 2030, the two countries will get better benefits from tariff reductions under the EVFTA. In addition, Romania will soon become a full member of the Schengen area.

Indeed, trade cooperation between Vietnam and Romania has been enhanced following the enforcement of the EVFTA in 2020, with two-way trade in 2022 increasing 1.6 times compared to 2019, from US$261 million to US$425 million. If the EVIPA is ratified by all EU countries, it, together with the EVFTA, will help rev up trade cooperation in areas where both sides have strengths such as agricultural products processing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, textile raw materials, footwear, and information technology.

VOV: How will the Prime Minister’s visit support the development and integration of the Vietnamese community in Romania, as well as their contributions to the fatherland, Ambassador?

Amb. Thanh: The Prime Minister is wholeheartedly devoted to the Vietnamese community in Romania. It’s worth remembering that he was a founding member of the Vietnamese Association in Romania in September 1993. As far as I know the Prime Minister always keeps a close watch on the living conditions of Vietnamese people and workers in Romania.

In 2022, when the Russia-Ukraine military conflict occurred, Vietnamese expatriates coordinated with Embassy officials and staff to support and shelter approximately 1,500 fellow Vietnamese refugees, more than double the number of Vietnamese expatriates in Romania, before they returned to the fatherland on repatriation flights or went on to travel to a third country.

Vietnamese expatriates are looking forwards to meeting the Prime Minister to talk about community activities and to learn about the fatherland’s recent developments. They expect that the PM, during his meetings with Romanian leaders, will ask the Romanian government and state to create more favourable conditions for the community to integrate well and increase their position in the host society. The expatriates themselves also vow to unite to turn their heart to the fatherland.