Vietnam-Poland promote traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's upcoming visit to Poland is of great significance, contributing to increasing political trust and promoting cooperation between Vietnam and Poland in potential areas.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with Polish President Andrzej Sebastian Duda on the occasion of attending the 15th Pioneers Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Dalian city, Liaoning province, China on the morning of June 25, 2024. (Photo: Duong Giang/VNA).

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife will join a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation to pay official visits to Poland and the Czech Republic, attend the 55th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, and hold bilateral meetings in Switzerland from January 15 to 23.

The first stop on the Prime Minister's working trip is Poland. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife, along with a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, are expected to pay an official visit to Poland from January 16-18 at the invitation of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

According to Vietnamese Ambassador to Poland Ha Hoang Hai, the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh demonstrates Vietnam's respect for its long-standing friendship with traditional friends in Central Eastern Europe, including Poland.

The visit is of great significance to promoting bilateral relations in the coming time; it is an opportunity for senior leaders of Vietnam and Poland to meet and discuss directly on important issues, thereby building trust and mutual understanding, demonstrating commitment to maintaining and developing a long-term and sustainable relationship.

75 years of traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation

Vietnam and Poland established diplomatic relations on February 4, 1950. The two countries have traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation.

Leaders of the two countries regularly exchange delegations at all levels to strengthen and tighten the friendship between the two countries.

On the Vietnamese side, there were visits to Poland by: Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet (May 1997); President Tran Duc Luong (October 2003); National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung (March 2013); Minister Bui Thanh Son met with Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski on the sidelines of the 24th ASEAN-EU Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AEMM-24) and the 3rd Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum (IPMF-3) (February 2024); Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with Polish President Andrzej Duda on the occasion of attending the 2024 WEF Dalian Conference in Dalian, China (June 2024); Vice Chairman of the National Assembly, Senior Lieutenant General Tran Quang Phuong paid a working visit to Poland (March 2024)...

On the Polish side, there were visits to Vietnam by: President Aleksander Kwasniewski (March 1999); President of the Polish Senate Longin Pastusiak (September 2003); Prime Minister Marek Belka (January 2005); Prime Minister Donald Tusk on an official visit (September 2010); Polish President Andrzej Duda (November 2017); Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau (March 2023); Polish Foreign Minister Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski (December 2024)...

Recently, on the occasion of attending the 15th Annual Pioneers Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Dalian 2024 in Dalian City, China, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had a meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda (June 25, 2024).

At the meeting, the two leaders agreed that the two countries would soon elevate bilateral relations to a new height in the coming time.

In addition, cooperation between the two legislative bodies of Vietnam and Poland has been constantly developing. The 15th National Assembly of Vietnam established the Vietnam-Poland Friendship Parliamentary Group. On the Polish side, the Poland-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentary Group was established in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

At multilateral forums, the two countries closely coordinate at forums such as the United Nations, promote relations between ASEAN with Poland and the European Union (EU); coordinate to organize cultural and artistic exchange activities in each country in 2025, towards the 75th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-Poland diplomatic relations (February 4, 1950 - February 4, 2025).

In terms of trade, Poland is currently Vietnam's number one trading partner in Central Eastern Europe, and Vietnam is Poland's third trading partner in Southeast Asia. Poland has ratified the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement.

According to the General Department of Customs, in 2023, the total import-export turnover between the two countries will be 2,773 million USD, of which Vietnam will import 373 million USD and export 2,400 million USD. The import-export turnover between the two countries in the first 11 months of 2024 will reach 3,151 million USD.

Regarding investment, as of the end of October 2024, Poland ranked 21st out of 149 countries and territories investing in Vietnam with 32 valid investment projects, total registered investment capital reaching 473 million USD, mainly in the form of 100% foreign capital.

Vietnam has 4 investment projects in Poland with a total investment capital of 1.84 million USD, in the service and processing industry sectors.

Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son and Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau witnessed the signing ceremony of a cooperation agreement between the two diplomatic academies of Vietnam and Poland on the morning of March 16, 2023. (Photo: Lam Khanh/VNA).

Regarding education and training cooperation, Poland recently announced its willingness to increase the number of annual scholarships for Vietnamese students from 20 to 50. Currently, the two sides are negotiating to sign an agreement on training cooperation for the 2025-2028 period.

The Vietnamese community in Poland currently has about 25,000 people, contributing to the development of economic and trade relations between the two countries and is positively evaluated by the Polish government. Some overseas Vietnamese in Poland have returned to their home country to invest relatively successfully, especially in the real estate and finance sectors.

Promoting cooperation in potential areas

According to Vietnamese Ambassador to Poland Ha Hoang Hai, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to Poland continues the series of dynamic and active foreign affairs activities of the Party and State leaders in recent times, affirming the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralization, diversification, and the desire to be friends and reliable partners of other countries.

The visit is even more meaningful as from January 1, 2025, Poland will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU), with an increasingly important position and role in the EU, while Vietnam and the EU are also celebrating 35 years of establishing diplomatic relations, aiming to upgrade the relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

The Prime Minister's visit to Poland contributes to promoting the adoption of Poland's role in the EU to strengthen cooperation between Vietnam and Poland in particular and Vietnam and the EU in general.

Deputy Foreign Minister Le Thi Thu Hang and Deputy Secretary of State of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Anna Krystyna Radwan-Rohrenschef co-chaired the Vietnam-Poland Deputy Foreign Minister-level Political Consultation on the morning of May 30, 2024. (Photo: Doan Tan/VNA).

It can be said that the upcoming visit of the Prime Minister of Vietnam to Poland is of great significance, contributing to increasing political trust, promoting and bringing traditional cooperation areas such as economics, trade, labor, culture, education, human resource training, etc. to a new stage, meeting the development requirements of each country; promoting cooperation in potential and strong areas such as science and technology, information and communication, pharmaceuticals, and innovation. The visit contributes to promoting the two countries to upgrade their diplomatic relations.

In addition, the visit of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh is also an opportunity for Vietnam and Poland to promote cooperation to connect the relationship between Vietnam and Central Eastern Europe and between Poland and ASEAN, closely coordinate in solving global issues to contribute to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.

According to Polish Ambassador to Vietnam Joanna Skoczek, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to Poland ahead of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Poland and Vietnam (February 4, 1950 - February 4, 2025) is very meaningful. This will be the first visit by a Vietnamese Prime Minister to Poland in 17 years.

The visit is an opportunity for both sides to review bilateral cooperation and identify areas of mutual interest that can be further promoted in the coming time.

Vietnamese and Polish businesses discuss cooperation opportunities at the Vietnam-Poland Trade Exchange in Ho Chi Minh City in 2022. (Photo: Xuan Anh/VNA).

Many Vietnamese enterprises will accompany Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on this visit, so this is an opportunity to create space for direct contacts between businesses of the two countries, enhance mutual interest and understanding, promote trade turnover, scientific and academic exchanges.

According to Polish Ambassador to Vietnam Joanna Skoczek, both countries have experienced rapid and continuous economic growth in recent years. In addition, both countries face a number of development challenges, such as the energy transition or the need for digitalization.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit this time, especially activities related to economic cooperation, will bring many opportunities for business-to-business (B2B) meetings, thereby promoting cooperation ideas.

"As an economically successful country, the 6th largest economy in the European Union, the 21st economy globally, Poland is ready to share its experiences, lessons, and know-how with Vietnamese partners," Polish Ambassador Joanna Skoczek affirmed.

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/viet-nam-ba-lan-thuc-day-quan-he-huu-nghi-truyen-thong-va-hop-tac-nhieu-mat-10298317.html