Vietnam-Cyprus relations still have much room for development

Deputy Foreign Minister Le Thi Thu Hang affirmed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is always ready to closely coordinate to create breakthroughs and new momentum for cooperation between Vietnam and Cyprus.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang held a working meeting with the Permanent Deputy Minister to the President of Cyprus, Irene Piki. (Photo: Bao Chi)

On September 8th, during her working visit to Cyprus, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang held a meeting with the Permanent Deputy Minister to the President of Cyprus, Irene Piki.

Both sides highly appreciated the significance of the visit, which was the first exchange of delegations between the two countries in the past 10 years, taking place in the context of Vietnam and Cyprus celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and the two countries' relations showing many positive developments.

Thanking the warm welcome and expressing her admiration for the beautiful scenery and dynamic development of Cyprus, which has risen to become one of the EU's leading GDP growth nations, Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang highly appreciated the significant achievements Cyprus has made in implementing its Vision 2035 strategy, especially in the fields of science and technology, financial technology, innovation, digital transformation, and maritime affairs.

To further promote and expand bilateral cooperation, based on the needs and strengths of both countries, Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang proposed strengthening exchanges of delegations at all levels and through all channels, especially visits by high-level leaders; affirming that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is always ready to coordinate closely to create breakthroughs and new momentum for cooperation between the two countries.

Congratulating Vietnam on the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day on September 2nd, Deputy Minister Irene Piki expressed admiration for Vietnam's past struggle for national liberation as well as its current national construction and development; and shared Cyprus's current socio-economic development achievements.

Assessing the close and friendly relationship between Vietnam and Cyprus, Deputy Minister Irene Piki affirmed that the two countries have much room for cooperation, especially in the field of economic cooperation; and proposed that the two sides strengthen cooperation in the fields of science and technology and innovation, financial technology, pharmaceuticals, education, etc.

Deputy Minister Irene Piki agreed that both sides should coordinate to promote the signing of cooperation documents such as the Memorandum of Understanding on political consultations between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs, the Agreement on avoiding double taxation, the Memorandum of Understanding on labor cooperation, especially skilled labor, and coordinate the organization of economic activities such as business forums and seminars during visits of high-level leaders of the two countries…

Expressing pleasure at the development in trade turnover over the past year, both sides agreed to continue effectively exploiting the benefits from the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), further facilitating access for Vietnamese and Cypriot goods to each other's markets; to promote the early ratification of the Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) by EU countries, thereby helping to strengthen investment attraction between Vietnam and the EU in general and with Cyprus in particular; and to continue supporting Vietnam in its request to the European Commission (EC) to lift the "yellow card" imposed on Vietnamese seafood.

The two Deputy Ministers exchanged views on a number of regional and international issues of common interest, and agreed to continue to coordinate closely and support each other in international forums, particularly at the United Nations, ASEAN, and the EU.

Regarding the South China Sea issue, both sides agreed on the importance of the South China Sea in international maritime traffic; affirmed their support for Vietnam and ASEAN's stance on resolving disputes through peaceful means based on adherence to international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), contributing to maintaining peace, stability, security, safety, and freedom of navigation and overflight in the region.

Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang works with the Minister of Labour and Social Security of Cyprus, Yiannis Panayiotou. (Photo: Bao Chi)

On the same day, Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang held a working meeting with the Minister of Labour and Social Security of Cyprus, Yiannis Panayiotou.

Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang thanked the Cypriot government for creating favorable conditions for more than 7,000 Vietnamese people there, expressing her delight at the integration and contribution of the community to the socio-economic development of the host country. According to the Deputy Minister, with their high adaptability, diligence, and skill, Vietnamese workers meet the requirements of the market well, including Cyprus.

The Deputy Minister requested the Cypriot government to continue supporting the Vietnamese community in stabilizing their lives, integrating into society, raising their minimum income level, and ensuring they receive full access to social security benefits and policies.

Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang emphasized that with their high adaptability, diligence, and skill, Vietnamese workers meet the requirements of the labor markets of various countries, including Cyprus. (Photo: Bao Chi)

The Minister of Labour and Social Security highly appreciated the Vietnamese worker community in Cyprus and expressed a desire to further promote the attraction of Vietnamese workers to work in Cyprus, expanding into other sectors such as services and healthcare. He also agreed to strengthen coordination in training high-quality human resources to serve both the industrialization and modernization process in Vietnam and meet the labor needs of Cyprus and Europe.

Affirming the role of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security in protecting the rights of workers in general, including Vietnamese workers, Minister Yiannis Panayiotou agreed to expedite negotiations and soon sign a Memorandum of Understanding on the recruitment of Vietnamese workers to work in Cyprus, creating an important legal framework for long-term cooperation.

Minister Yiannis Panayiotou suggested that both sides cooperate in developing a specific plan to promote the signing of the agreement, and also instructed relevant units to carefully study Vietnam's proposals on supporting Vietnamese workers in Cyprus regarding income and working conditions.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/quan-he-viet-nam-va-cyprus-con-nhieu-du-dia-de-phat-trien-327123.html