New momentum for Vietnam-Slovenia collaboration

Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien and Slovenian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tanja Fajon have recently co-chaired the third meeting of the Vietnam-Slovenia Inter-Governmental Committee in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

The meeting was expected to create new momentum for bilateral relations in all fields, especially trade activities, in the coming time.

The two sides reviewed the implementation of bilateral cooperation activities since the second meeting in 2019, in which two-way trade increased twelve-fold from 46 million in 2012 to 573 million USD last year.

However, they agreed that the economic and trade relations fail to meet potential and prospects of the two countries. Therefore, they stressed the need to promote cooperation in all aspects, especially in economics - trade, tourism, transportation and logistics, to help Vietnamese goods access the Slovenian market in particular, the EU market in general and vice versa in a more convenient way.

Vietnam proposed Slovenia soon ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).

The two sides also agreed to strengthen coordination at regional and international forum, and maintain the exchange of delegations, particularly in 2024 when the two celebrate the 30th founding anniversary of their diplomatic ties.

They then signed the minutes of the third meeting of the Vietnam-Slovenia Inter-Governmental Committee.

Within the framework of his working visit to Slovenia, Minister Dien also co-chaired a roundtable on cooperation between the two countries’ enterprises with Director of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia Marjana Majeric who said that Slovenia's economy depends heavily on exports and Vietnam is a very potential market for Slovenian businesses.

At Dien’s meeting with Slovenian Minister of the Economy, Tourism and Sport Matjaž Han, the two sides expressed their hope to promote cooperation to improve competitiveness in the field of tourism, business development and internationalisation.

Slovenia is currently looking for workers and is ready to cooperate in the fields of labour and sustainable development with Vietnam, Matjaž Han said.

On this occasion, the Vietnamese minister also met with Prime Minister Robert Golob who affirmed that Slovenia always considers Vietnam as its important partner, and wants to strengthen bilateral ties in all fields.