Greece steps up all-around cooperation with Vietnam
VOV.VN - Greece wants to augment cooperation in a multitude of fields with Vietnam, said visiting Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Nikolaos Kotzias at a February 13 meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh.
Kotzias told Binh Minh his nation appreciates Vietnam’s increasingly important role in the region and the world and the country’s achievements in national defence and socio-economic development.
Minh expressed his belief that Kotzias's current visit to Vietnam will contributes to deepening friendship and cooperation between the two nations.
The two officials expressed their joy at fruitful cooperation between Vietnam and Greece since former President Nguyen Minh Triet’s trip to Greece and former Greek President Karolos Papoulias’s visit to Vietnam, in 2008.
They discussed how to further promote cooperation between the two countries, focusing on enhancing all-level visits and effectively carry out cooperation mechanisms like political consultation between the two foreign ministries.
They agreed to continue encouraging and making it easier for the two countries’ business communities to enhance partnership and share experience, especially in terms of ship building and repairing, maritime shipping service, seaport exploitation and logistics service, education-training, culture and heritage preservation.
Host and guest concurred to accelerate negotiations to soon conclude agreements on avoidance of double taxation, maritime transport, and visa exemption for diplomatic passport holders.
They also exchanged views on international and regional issues of common concern, and agreed to continue coordinating closely at international and regional forums, especially at the United Nations, the ASEAN-EU, the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).
As an ASEAN member, Vietnam will help Greece expand cooperation with the grouping and its other member nations, Minh said, while Kotzias affirmed that Greece supports Vietnam in boost comprehensive relations with the European Union (EU).
After the talks, the two officials met with media to inform the outcomes of their talks.