Deputy FM Le Thi Thu Hang visits Ireland to promote bilateral cooperation
WVR - On March 26-27, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang visited Ireland to promote bilateral cooperation and expand connections in the field of innovation.
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| Deputy Foreign Minister Le Thi Thu Hang and Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Ireland Neale Richmond co-chaired the Vietnam-Ireland Deputy Foreign Minister-level Political Consultation. (Photo: Bao Chi) |
On March 26 in Dublin (Ireland), Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang, along with Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Ireland, Irish Parliament Member Neale Richmond, co-chaired the Deputy Foreign Minister-level Political Consultation between the two countries.
The consultation aimed to review bilateral cooperation in recent times, implementing agreements reached between the two countries, especially during the State visit to Ireland by General Secretary and President To Lam in October 2024. They also discussed measures to promote traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Ireland, particularly in the framework of the strategic sector partnership in higher education, as well as cooperation between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs in the future, and exchanged views on international and regional issues of mutual concern.
At the Political Consultation, Minister of State Neale Richmond warmly welcomed Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang, affirming that Ireland values the friendship built and strengthened on the foundation of political trust, shared interests, and values between the two countries over the past 30 years. He emphasized that Ireland is very pleased with the newly established bilateral framework, which provides a solid basis for enhancing mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields, especially in economy, trade, investment, education, training, science, technology, and innovation, for the development and prosperity of both nations and contributing to peace, cooperation, and sustainable development in the region and the world.
Deputy Foreign Minister Le Thi Thu Hang expressed her pleasure in co-chairing the political consultation as the two countries celebrate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations (1996-2026) and the official opening of the Vietnamese Embassy in Ireland during this occasion. She affirmed that the relationship between the two countries has always been nurtured by the leaders and people of both sides, achieving many positive outcomes. The Vietnamese people always cherish and remember the valuable support and solidarity of the Irish people in the current process of renovation, economic-social development, and international integration, and wish to strengthen multifaceted cooperation with Ireland on both bilateral and multilateral levels, determined to effectively implement high-level commitments and agreements, making the bilateral relationship increasingly substantive and effective.
Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang and Minister of State Richmond agreed that in the future, both sides will closely coordinate to promote high-level delegation exchanges, effectively utilize the strategic sector partnership framework in higher education, and the Political Consultation mechanism between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs to coordinate and expedite the implementation of agreements, resolve difficulties, and promote cooperation in specific fields.
Recognizing the close coordination between the two countries at multilateral forums, both sides affirmed their commitment to continue cooperating and supporting each other's candidates for United Nations agencies and other international organizations, while becoming each other's "gateway" to enhance cooperation with the EU and ASEAN.
Regarding economic cooperation, both sides acknowledged the positive development of bilateral trade, reaching nearly 4.1 billion USD in 2025 (an increase of 14% compared to 2024). They appreciated the role and agreed on the need to effectively implement the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), promoting each side's goods into the EU and ASEAN markets, especially those products in which both sides have strengths such as agricultural and aquatic products, to further enhance and ensure balanced trade between the two countries.
The Minister of State of Ireland appreciated the effective implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in transforming the food system (signed in October 2024) and welcomed Vietnam's opening of its market for Irish beef.
Both sides agreed to continue cooperating and sharing experiences in policy-making and management systems regarding the agricultural food chain (linking enterprises - farmers - organizations - consumers), promoting the connection and cooperation of agricultural enterprises from both sides.
Both sides also agreed to build on the positive outcomes of development cooperation in recent times. Ireland affirmed its continued cooperation with Vietnam in this important area.
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| Deputy Foreign Minister Le Thi Thu Hang visits and works with the Innovation Centre at Trinity College Dublin. (Photo: Bao Chi) |
Deputy Foreign Minister Le Thi Thu Hang urged Ireland to promptly ratify the Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and encourage the remaining EU member states to do so, facilitating smooth and effective investment by enterprises in each other's projects. She hoped Ireland would acknowledge Vietnam's efforts in combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and support the European Commission in lifting the IUU yellow card on Vietnam's seafood exports.
Both sides highly valued cultural, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, especially the significant increase in Irish tourists visiting Vietnam recently. They agreed to encourage each other's travel businesses to participate in tourism fairs in each country to effectively promote and exploit cooperation potential, while also fostering the establishment of people-to-people friendship organizations between the two countries.
On this occasion, Deputy Foreign Minister Le Thi Thu Hang expressed than and requested the Irish Government to continue facilitating the Vietnamese community in Ireland to do business, live stably, integrate well, and contribute to Ireland's development, enhancing their role as a bridge of friendship and cooperation between the two countries.
Discussing regional and international issues of mutual concern, both sides expressed concern over tensions in certain areas, emphasizing the need to resolve disputes and conflicts peacefully based on international law and the United Nations Charter. Regarding the East Sea, both sides underscored the importance of ensuring peace, stability, security, safety, and freedom of navigation and overflight in the region, based on respect for international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982.
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| Deputy Foreign Minister Le Thi Thu Hang meets with Eugene Cartan, Central Committee Member, former General Secretary of the Communist Party of Ireland. (Photo: Bao Chi) |
During the visit, Deputy Foreign Minister Le Thi Thu Hang met with Eugene Cartan, Central Committee Member, former General Secretary of the Communist Party of Ireland. During the meeting, Vice Minister Le Thi Thu Hang affirmed that the Party, State, and people of Vietnam always remember the support of the Irish people for Vietnam's nation-building, defense, and development efforts; and are committed to preserving and enhancing the good relations between the two communist parties.
Eugene Cartan highly appreciated Vietnam's development achievements under the leadership of the Communist Party, as well as the Vietnam-Ireland relationship; affirming that the Communist Party of Ireland always holds a special affection for the Communist Party of Vietnam, the country, and the people of Vietnam, and is ready to serve as a bridge to introduce Vietnamese culture to the Irish people.
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| Deputy Foreign Minister Le Thi Thu Hang meets with Mr. Gerard McKillen, Honorary Consul of Vietnam in Ireland, Chairman of Pacific Land Patrick Group. (Photo: Bao Chi) |
Also during the visit, Deputy Foreign Minister Le Thi Thu Hang met with Mr. Gerard McKillen, Honorary Consul of Vietnam in Ireland, Chairman of Pacific Land Patrick Group. During the meeting, Mr. McKillen highly appreciated the increasingly robust development of bilateral relations and thanked Vietnam for its attention and support to Irish businesses in Vietnam, including the national key project, the Biotechnology High-Tech Park in Hanoi, invested by Pacific Land Group.
Mr. McKillen affirmed that with the orientation of attracting leading global biomedical enterprises to invest, the Biotechnology High-Tech Park in Hanoi will create an ecosystem in this field in Vietnam among domestic and international enterprises, top Vietnamese universities, and the region.
Deputy Foreign Minister Le Thi Thu Hang expressed gratitude for Mr. McKillen's affection and close cooperation over the past time, affirming that Vietnam will continue to facilitate effective investment by foreign enterprises, including those from Ireland, in Vietnam, in accordance with Vietnamese law.
