Attending WEF Davos 2024 is the first important activity within the framework of the Prime Minister’s working trip. In recent times, cooperation between Vietnam and the WEF has been advancing and has recorded certain substantive results. Vietnam regularly attends the WEF’s annual meetings. The two sides have signed and implemented a memorandum of understanding on Vietnam-WEF cooperation for the 2023-2026 period, with a focus on priority areas including digital transformation, green growth, climate change response, and enhancing human resources quality.
Under the theme “Rebuilding Trust”, Davos 2024 is the largest meeting since the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 2,600 delegates, including leaders of many countries and international organisations.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s participation in the prestigious WEF is an opportunity for Vietnam to convey the message of its achievements in dynamic development, innovation and in building an independent and self-reliant economy, with extensive and effective international integration; further enhancing Vietnam’s position while affirming its role as an active and responsible member of the international community.
The second stop on the Prime Minister’s working trip is Hungary. The more-than-70-year history of traditional friendship and multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries has developed positively in all fields, from development cooperation and defence-security to education-training, agriculture and culture.
On the occasion of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s official visit to Hungary in 2018, Vietnam and Hungary upgraded their relationship to a comprehensive partnership, making Hungary Vietnam’s first comprehensive partner in Central Eastern Europe and opening a new stage of development in their bilateral relationship.
In addition to maintaining regular delegation exchanges at all levels, especially high-level delegations, the annual bilateral trade value has already exceeded 1 billion USD since 2020, making Vietnam one of Hungary’s largest trading partners in Southeast Asia.
Hungary is Vietnam’s largest ODA donor in Central Eastern Europe and also offers the most scholarships to Vietnamese students. During the COVID-19 pandemic, in the spirit of solidarity and mutual support, Hungary was one of the first countries to donate vaccines and medical equipment to Vietnam to help the country promptly contain the pandemic.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s official visit to Hungary marks the first delegation exchange at the Prime Ministerial level between the two countries in the past seven years. The visit is significant in that it aims to further deepen the Vietnam-Hungary comprehensive partnership, especially in economics, education-training, and pharmaceutical technology.
As Hungary is expected to assume the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) in the latter half of 2024, the visit also provides an opportunity for Vietnam to strengthen coordination with the EU on regional and global issues, especially advancing the ratification of the Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).
Along with Hungary, Vietnam has also been enjoying a good traditional relationship and cooperation with Romania for more than 70 years. The two sides regularly exchange delegations at all levels, including high-level ones. Romanian leaders always affirm that Vietnam is a leading partner in Southeast Asia.
Despite the impact of COVID-19, Vietnam-Romania bilateral trade in 2022 reached more than 400 million USD, up 15% from 2021. In its capacity as rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU for the first six months of 2019, Romania actively supported and promoted the signing of the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and was one of the first three EU member states to ratify it. In addition, cooperation between Vietnam and Romania in the fields of security-defence, culture, education-training, and labour continues to grow in a positive and effective manner.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s official visit to Romania is the first delegation exchange at the Prime Ministerial level between the two countries in the past five years.
The visit is significant in that it aims to further deepen the traditional friendship and multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries, creating the motivation to advance bilateral cooperation in areas of Romania’s strengths that suit Vietnam’s development needs, such as agriculture, manufacturing, and healthcare. The trip also helps to facilitate relations between Vietnam and the EU.
As an important event for Vietnam and its European partners, Prime Minister’s Pham Minh Chinh’s trip to attend the WEF Annual Meeting in Davos and pay official visits to Hungary and Romania offers an opportunity for Vietnam to attract maximum resources for the country’s development; utilise international friends’ positive assessments of Vietnam’s potential, cooperation opportunities and position in the international stage; and create new impetus to strongly develop good relations with the WEF, Switzerland, Hungary and Romania.
