Hang affirmed that Vietnam always wants to strengthen traditional friendship with countries in the Balkans, of which Croatia is a priority, and congratulated Croatia on becoming an official member of the Eurozone and the Schengen Area, which contributes to enhancing its position and role in the European Union (EU) as well as in the international arena.
For his part, Frano Matusic expressed his impression of Vietnam's achievements in socio-economic development and international integration and affirmed a desire to enhance cooperation with the Southeast Asia nation in traditional fields such as trade and investment while expanding to new fields such as logistics, digital economy, new energy, education-training and labour.
He held that Croatia is willing to cooperate and share experience with Vietnam on sustainable tourism development.
Croatia has demand for skilled labour in the fields of construction and tourism, the diplomat said, emphasising the potential for cooperation in the field of logistics, bringing Vietnamese goods through Croatia's Rijeka port to Central and Eastern Europe and EU countries.
Deputy Minister Hang suggested Croatia create favourable conditions for Vietnam's agricultural products such as coffee, tropical fruits, textile products, and footwear to enter its market.
Regarding cooperation orientations in the coming time, the two sides agreed to increase the exchange of delegations at all levels, especially high-level ones, thereby strengthening political trust and creating momentum to promote collaboration in all fields. They also consented to consider establishing new cooperation mechanisms to further effectively exploit the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), as well as enhance cooperation in other fields such as security, defence, science-technology and education.
Hang took the occasion to thank Croatia for being one of the first EU member countries to ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and call on the Croatian side to persuade the remaining 10 EU countries to soon ratify the EVIPA and support the European Commission (EC) to soon remove the "yellow card" warning imposed on Vietnam's seafood.
The two sides agreed to coordinate to successfully organise cultural and art exchange activities in each country in 2024 on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties and closely coordinate at multilateral forums such as the United Nations and within the ASEAN - EU framework.
Discussing international and regional issues of mutual concern, they underscored the need to resolve conflicts by peaceful means on the basis of international law and respect for the UN Charter.
Regarding the situation in the East Sea/South China Sea, both sides emphasised the importance of ensuring peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight in the East Sea, respecting international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and support the negotiation process of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) between ASEAN and China.
