A push for Vietnam - Romania economic cooperation

TIN LIÊN QUAN
	Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh visits Romania
	Deputy PM Minh’s Romania visit to deepen bilateral cooperation

Regarding this event, Vietnamese Ambassador to Romania, Tran Thanh Cong, spoke with The World and Vietnam Report about this important visit.

Your Excellency, can you explain the importance of the Minister’s visit?

This visit is important in continuing to develop our government’s consistent foreign policy, deepening our partnership, making it more efficient and productive in order to provide the two nations with the most benefits.

After 68 years, the friendly relations between Romania and Vietnam have grown significantly. Romania encouraged Vietnam’s participation in the UN Human Rights Council (for the 2014-2016 term) and endorsed our entry into the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO). Moreover, both countries are seeing phenomenal economic growth. In 2017, Romanian economic growth exceeded 7%, the highest in the European Union, while Vietnam reached 6.81% and completed 13 economic and social tasks.

That is why the Minister’s visit is a perfect occasion for the two countries to establish deeper ties on an economic level, shorten our geographical distance, support each other and strengthen the Vietnam-Romania partnership.

Ambassador Tran Thanh Cong (R) and a Romanian partner.

How do you assess relations between Vietnam and Romania?

Our relations are still growing strongly in all spheres, contributing to the economic and social development of the two nations. In addition, both countries continue to support each other on the international scene and at multilateral forums like the UN, Francophonie and ASEM.

Moreover, as the President of the Council of the European Union for the first half of 2019, Romania will become ‘the bridge’ connecting Vietnam and the EU; while Vietnam will do its best to strengthen relations between Romania and ASEAN.

The economic partnership between the two countries has been successful, for instance, Vietnamese exports to Romania exceeded 42 million USD in the first quarter of 2017, an increase of 24.43% compared to 2017. I believe that the 16th meeting of the Joint Committee on economic partnership, which will be held in the third quarter of this year in Bucharest, will provide strong motivation for the two nations to further develop trade and investment.

Bilateral relations at the local level are also growing, namely in a series of partnership agreements, for example, Ha Noi – Bucharest, Da Nang – Timisoara, Lao Cai – Hunedoara, Iasi – Hue. The relations between Tulcea and Ben Tre have also seen great results.

Cultural and educational cooperation has always been an important concern of the two governments. In 2016, on the occasion of former Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciorlos’s official visit, the two sides signed a new Agreement on Educational Cooperation, increasing the number of Romanian scholarships for Vietnam from 10 to 20 each year. Up until now, Romania has educated more than 3,000 Vietnamese undergraduate and graduate students in different fields.

The connection between Vietnamese and Romanian people is also increasing significantly, thanks to the Vietnam – Romania and Romania – Vietnam Friendship Associations and Vietnamese community in Romania.

Ambassador Tran Thanh Cong attended the "Vietnam Day"  program in Tulcea.

How do you assess the potential of Vietnam – Romania relations? Which are the two countries’ strongest and most promising fields in order to boost bilateral ties?

The current international situation is changing rapidly, presenting a number of problems. Based on our advantageous political relations, we need to maximise the strength of cooperation, organise more visits at all levels and organise galleries and cultural exchange activities. Moreover, we should increase other fields of cooperation, for instance: business, culture, education, science, technology, tourism, agriculture and labor. These are the key fields to consolidate and develop our strong bonds.

In the future, the bilateral partnership will develop in the following directions:

The first is to continue to develop trade relations to a new level, based on the fact that both countries’ markets are not too rigorous, both have high consumer demand for affordable goods and are covered by the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). Besides, the Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) will be ratified in the near future.

The second is that the two governments need to provide enterprises with maximum opportunities to explore the market of the other country, opening more possibilities for mutual investment.

The third is to make use of EU support for agricultural economics, which is a strength of both countries. We can research the potential for establishing a joint process-manufacturing company, specialised in seafood, wine and agricultural products, in order to export to a third country. By increasing agricultural economics, we could also raise living standards in the suburbs.

The fourth is that labor shortage is now a problem in Romania, while Vietnam has young and skillful human resources. I think that this is a chance to promote labor cooperation between two countries.

Based on the economic priorities mentioned above, I believe that Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh’s visit will create more opportunities and motivation for us to push forward in new directions and make new plans so that the bond between the two countries can become more efficient and stable.

Thank you, Your Excellency!

By Trinh Quang Chinh

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