On the afternoon of January 20, local time, within the framework of an official visit to the Czech Republic, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with Czech President Petr Pavel.
At the meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh informed President Petr Pavel of the very successful results of his talks with Prime Minister Petr Fiala. The two leaders expressed their delight at witnessing a historic moment in the bilateral relationship, which was the upgrading of bilateral relations to a Strategic Partnership on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
The two leaders agreed to continue to increase contacts and exchanges of delegations at all levels, especially high-level ones, to enhance political trust and mutual understanding, commensurate with the strategic partnership.
The two sides agreed to continue to fully and effectively implement the Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), striving to increase trade turnover to 5 billion USD in the coming time, creating favorable conditions for each other's goods to be more present in each other's market; encourage Czech enterprises to increase investment in Vietnam in areas of Czech strength such as digital transformation, pharmaceuticals, food industry, manufacturing and processing industry, mineral exploitation and processing, etc.
The two leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation in the fields of security - defense, science - technology, innovation, education - training, culture - sports, music, arts, and people-to-people exchange. President Petr Pavel appreciated Vietnam's unilateral visa exemption for Czech citizens in 2025 and wished to soon open a direct flight between Hanoi and Prague.
President Petr Pavel will urge the remaining European countries to soon ratify the EVIPA Agreement, affirming support for the EC to consider removing the IUU yellow card for Vietnam's seafood exports; and agree that the two governments will soon build an action program to implement the newly established strategic partnership.
On the afternoon of January 20, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with President of the Czech Senate Milos Vystrcil. The two sides agreed to realize the content of the strategic partnership, increase delegation exchanges at all levels, especially high-level and people-to-people exchanges, cooperation in security - defense, education - training, and tourism. The Prime Minister asked the Czech Senate to support granting labor quotas to Vietnam, creating conditions for ordinary passport holders to visit and travel in the Czech Republic.
Emphasizing the importance of cooperation between the two parliaments in the overall bilateral relationship, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Senate President Milos Vystrcil both supported increasing delegation exchanges between the legislative bodies of the two countries to share experience in policy and law making.
To realize the Strategic Partnership, the Prime Minister proposed that the two sides establish extensive cooperation mechanisms and prepare for the 8th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee on Economic Cooperation. The Prime Minister hoped that the Senate would support cooperation agreements between the two countries as well as economic cooperation frameworks, encouraging investment in areas of both sides' strengths.
Senate President Milos Vystrcil assessed that Vietnam is one of the Czech Republic's potential markets in Southeast Asia, with more and more Czech enterprises interested in expanding their investment and business in Vietnam. The Czech Senate President agreed with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's proposal to urge the remaining European countries to soon ratify the EVIPA agreement. The Czech Senate President thanked Vietnam for exempting visas for Czech citizens in 2025, appreciating the impact of this decision on tourism and people-to-people exchange.
