Meeting with Xuan, the Portuguese President affirmed that the bilateral meetings on this occasion are of great significance, creating an impetus for the two nations’ ties to continue to develop positively in the post-COVID-19 period.
Lauding key achievements that Vietnam has obtained during its national construction and development, he affirmed that Portugal attaches importance to and wishes to build its long-term relations with Vietnam.
Both Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Xuan expressed their delight at the growing friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Portugal since the establishment of their diplomatic relations in 1975. They agreed that there is a need for increasing the exchange of delegations at all levels in the time to come.
The Vietnamese Vice President praised Portugal's role in the EU as well as in solving common problems of the international community. She wished that the two nations will strengthen economic, trade and investment cooperation in order to make it a pillar of bilateral relations.
Emphasising that the sides need to continue to effectively implement the EU – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), Xuan suggested Portugal soon ratify the EU – Vietnam Investment Agreement (EVIPA) and urge the European Commission (EC) to remove a “yellow card” warning on Vietnamese seafood.
She took the occasion to convey the invitation of President Nguyen Xuan Phuc to the Portuguese President to visit Vietnam soon.
At the meeting with Antonio Filipe Gaiao, who is also a member of the Portuguese Communist Party Central Committee, Xuan informed him on the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV)’s goals and orientations for national development for 2021-2025.
She suggested the Portuguese Communist Party continue to coordinate with the CPV on multilateral activities and support the early ratification of the EVIPA.
For his part, Antonio Filipe Gaiao talked about efforts of his Party in protecting the interests of the working class in Portugal.
On the same day, Xuan had a meeting with the Vietnamese community in Portugal. She informed them about the situation in Vietnam and stressed that the Vietnamese Party, State and people are striving to prevent and control the COVID-19 epidemic while implementing measures to restore the economy.
On this occasion, the Vietnamese community made their donations to Vietnam's COVID-19 prevention fund.
