Support Vietnamese and Lithuanian businesses to connect and explore the market

On the afternoon of October 25, 2023, at the Government Office, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis on the occasion of his official visit to Vietnam from October 25-26, 2023.

At the reception, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh welcomed the first Foreign Ministerial visit between the two countries since Vietnam and Lithuania established diplomatic relations in 1992, expressing his belief that Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis' visit will be an important milestone, contributing to further promoting Vietnam-Lithuania relations in many fields.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that the Vietnamese Government always attaches importance to and wishes to strengthen relations with Lithuania, a traditional friendly partner in the Central Eastern European region.

Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis expressed his pleasure to visit Vietnam and sincerely thanked Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh for taking the time to receive the delegation; expressed his impression of Vietnam's socio-economic development achievements in recent times, and affirmed that Lithuania wishes to further promote cooperation with Vietnam, Lithuania's priority partner in Southeast Asia.

Discussing bilateral relations, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh highly appreciated the results of the talks between Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son and Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis; suggested that the two sides promote the exchange of delegations at all levels, especially high-level ones, as well as between ministries, sectors and localities of the two countries to enhance political trust and mutual understanding, creating a foundation to promote and expand bilateral cooperation in all fields.

Focus - Supporting Vietnamese and Lithuanian businesses to connect and explore the market — Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis (Photo: Chinhphu.vn/VOV)

In that spirit, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh asked Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis to convey the invitation of the Vietnamese high-ranking leaders to officially visit Vietnam to the President and Prime Minister of Lithuania.

Regarding economy and trade, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hopes that both sides will encourage and support businesses of the two countries to connect, explore markets, and cooperate opportunities in accordance with each other's potential and needs.

The Prime Minister proposed that Lithuania facilitate the increasing presence of Vietnamese agricultural, forestry and fishery products, especially rice and seasonal fruits, in the Lithuanian market.

On this occasion, the Prime Minister thanked Lithuania for actively supporting the signing of the Vietnam-European Union Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and being one of the first EU member states to ratify the Vietnam-European Union Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), and asked Lithuania to urge the remaining EU member states to soon ratify the EVIPA as well as contribute its voice in recognizing Vietnam's efforts in fully and seriously implementing the European Commission's (EC) recommendations on sustainable fisheries development and urging the EC to soon remove the "yellow card" (IUU) for Vietnamese seafood products.

At the meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also discussed with Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis a number of measures to promote cooperation in the fields of information technology, digital transformation, energy, climate change response, agricultural education and training, etc., including early negotiation and signing of a number of cooperation agreements to create a legal framework to further strengthen cooperation in potential fields in the coming time.

Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis agreed with the Prime Minister's assessment of the potential for cooperation between the two countries as well as the direction for developing bilateral relations in the coming time; pledged to closely coordinate with the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and relevant agencies of the two countries to concretize the opinions of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, determined to promote the development of bilateral relations in a practical and effective manner in all fields. Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis suggested that the Vietnamese side consider and create favorable conditions for the import of Lithuanian agricultural products into the Vietnamese market.

Discussing the international and regional situation, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis agreed that the two countries need to strengthen cooperation at multilateral forums and international organizations, emphasizing the importance of resolving disputes by peaceful means on the basis of international law, especially the United Nations Charter.

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