On the afternoon of March 19, at the Government headquarters, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Affairs Szijjarto Peter on the occasion of an official visit to Vietnam from March 18-19.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to developing relations with Hungary, Vietnam's first comprehensive partner in Central and Eastern Europe.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh expressed his deep impression of his official visit to Hungary in January 2024. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has conveyed an invitation to Hungarian Prime Minister Orban Viktor to soon pay an official visit to Vietnam.
Minister Szijjarto Peter expressed his impression of Vietnam's socio-economic development achievements, and affirmed that Hungary wishes to further promote the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Vietnam, Hungary's leading important partner in Southeast Asia.
The Prime Minister thanked Hungary, a very loyal friend, for the valuable support and assistance it has given to Vietnam over the past 75 years; expressed his delight that in recent times, despite being negatively affected by complicated changes in the world and regional situation, trade and investment between the two countries have continued to grow positively; welcomed the close coordination between the two sides to prepare for the 10th Session of the Vietnam - Hungary Joint Stock Committee on Economic Cooperation in Hanoi in 2025, after a period of interruption since 2019, to promote increased bilateral trade and investment turnover.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also discussed with Minister Szijjarto Peter a number of measures to promote cooperation in the fields of education, mechanics, electronics, tourism, labor, railway connectivity between Southeast Asia and Central and Eastern Europe, etc.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh especially emphasized his desire for Hungary to support Vietnam in training high-quality human resources in the field of nuclear power plant operation, which is a strength of Hungary and Vietnam in urgent need.
The Prime Minister agreed to review the legal framework for bilateral cooperation between the two sides, promptly negotiate the signing of an Agreement on citizen return and a cooperation agreement in the labor sector.
Minister Szijjarto Peter affirmed that with 50 years of experience in operating nuclear power plants using Russian technology, Hungary is ready to cooperate, helping to train Vietnam experts on nuclear power plant operations and consider this a field of strategic cooperation between the two countries.
Discussing international and regional issues of mutual concern, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Minister Szijjarto Peter agreed that the two countries have many similarities in foreign policy, need to increase meetings, exchanges, and cooperation at multilateral forums; agreed that peace, cooperation and development continue to be a common trend in the world, disputes need to be resolved by peaceful means on the basis of international law, for the benefit of the people of all peoples.
On this occasion, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh suggested that Hungary, as an EU member, help mobilize the remaining EU countries to soon ratify the Vietnam - EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and mobilize the EU to soon remove the yellow card for Vietnam's seafood exports.
Regarding the Vietnamese community in Hungary, Minister Szijjarto Peter highly appreciated the community for their hard work, intelligence and good integration with the host country, contributing positively to the friendship and cooperation between the two countries.
