Upgraded bilateral ties open new space for Vietnam-Slovakia cooperation

This is Vietnam’s 12th strategic partner and  the first visit to Vietnam by a senior European Union (EU) leader since Vietnam-EU relations were upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership in January 2025.

Building on nearly 80 years of traditional friendship since 1950, the upgrade opens a new chapter with a view to making cooperation deeper, more substantive, and more breakthrough, delivering practical benefits to the people and businesses of both sides.

PMs Le Minh Hung and Robert Fico agreed to direct their foreign ministries to formulate a specific action plan to implement the new cooperation framework. During the visit, the two sides exchanged and signed six cooperation documents covering politics and diplomacy, defence and defence industry, culture, atomic energy, metrology and quality standards, and local cooperation, along with more than 10 business agreements in energy, healthcare, tourism, manufacturing, industrial park infrastructure, and shipbuilding. The Vietnam-Slovakia Business Forum drew hundreds of enterprises from both countries, generating practical momentum.

Economic, trade and investment potential view as central pillar

Bilateral trade turnover between Vietnam and Slovakia reached approximately US$1.78 billion in 2025. Although Vietnam is Slovakia’s largest trade partner in Southeast Asia, the figure remains below their full potential. Both sides identified this as a critical pillar, striving to double two-way trade in the coming period by leveraging the complementary advantages of their economies, which do not directly compete but create a shared value chain targeting regional and global markets.

Priority sectors include the automotive industry, electronics, mechanical engineering, specialized machinery, transportation, pharmaceuticals, energy (peaceful nuclear and renewable energy), green technology, energy conservation, and sustainable green transition. The two nations committed to maximizing the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) to connect supply chains and logistics, channeling Vietnamese goods into Slovakia and Europe as well as into Vietnam and ASEAN, while shaping an open, fair, and transparent investment environment and promoting private investment.

The mechanism of the Intergovernmental Committee on Economic Cooperation will be effectively enhanced, with the possible establishment of sub-committees by sector. Slovakia stands ready to share experience and cooperate in nuclear energy development, finance, and "lighthouse" projects.

Science, technology, innovation and digital transformation: Breakthrough directions

Both sides placed special emphasis on augmenting cooperation in science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation, identifying this as one of the core solution groups to realize the strategic partnership framework. Bilateral cooperation will focus on mobilizing resources for phased programs, supporting research and technology transfer between universities, research institutes, and enterprises, and encouraging the involvement of technology firms and innovation funds.

Key fields include artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, robotics, automation, quantum technology, data science, information technology, fintech, high-tech agriculture, and advanced applied digital solutions. The two countries will share experience in formulating national science, technology, and innovation policies, and intensify  high-quality human resource training through expert, lecturer, and student exchanges, scholarships, and joint projects. Education and training cooperation will be closely tied to the needs of the new labor market, utilizing programs such as ERASMUS+.

Additionally, cooperation potential extends to defence and security (including defence industry, training, peacekeeping, cybersecurity, and transnational crime prevention), renewable energy, climate change response, healthcare, high-tech agriculture, culture and tourism with a desire to launch direct flights and leverage visa exemption policies, and people-to-people exchanges with Slovakia recognizing the Vietnamese community as its 14th ethnic minority in June 2023.

To materialize cooperation potential in emerging fields such as defence and security industries, deputy defence and public security ministers led delegations to visit and work in Slovakia in May and June 2026.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam  Central Committee and President To Lam also underscored the orientation to boost  cooperation in economy, technology, energy, digital transformation, and people-to-people exchanges in a manner commensurate with the new framework of bilateral relations. For its part, Slovakia views Vietnam as its most important partner in Southeast Asia and one of its top three partners in Asia.

Clear mutual complementarity, high political resolve, and concrete action mechanisms will enable the Vietnam-Slovakia strategic partnership are expected to deliver substantive progress across multiple domains, particularly in economics,  science, technology, and innovation, contributing to regional and global peace, stability, and prosperity.
                                   

Vietnam, Slovakia issue joint statement on establishment of strategic partnership

Vietnam and Slovakia have issued a joint statement on the establishment of a strategic partnership on the occasion of the official visit to Vietnam from April 12 to 14 by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.

People-to-people ties underpin Vietnam-Slovakia relations

VOV.VN - A gathering was held on April 12 in Hanoi between a delegation of the Government of Slovakia and Vietnamese people who hold affection for the country and people of Slovakia, on the occasion of the official visit to Vietnam by the Slovak Prime Minister and his delegation.