Blanar Meets with Vietnamese Ambassador to Discuss Economic Cooperation

Bratislava, May 13 (TASR) - Vietnam, one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia and the world, offers opportunities for the development of trade cooperation with Slovakia and the entire EU, the Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Ministry press department stated following a meeting between Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD) and Vietnamese Ambassador to Slovakia Pham Truong Giang on Tuesday. “In terms of trade, Vietnam is our third most important partner in Asia, and Slovakia is the second-largest trading partner of Vietnam in Central and Eastern Europe. We therefore discussed specific ways to make use of these significant investment and economic opportunities,” said Blanar, adding that both countries are interested in restarting preparations for the third session of the Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation, which is expected to take place this year in Vietnam. The total volume of Slovak-Vietnamese trade exceeded €4 billion last year, while the Vietnamese economy records annual GDP growth of around seven percent. “We want to support Slovak exporters and their investments in this promising market and in the dynamically developing Indo-Pacific region. We plan to strengthen the economic dimension of our diplomacy here,” Blanar added. He also highlighted opportunities in the tourism sector. Last year, 12,000 Slovak tourists visited Vietnam. Currently, Slovak citizens can only travel visa-free to the Vietnamese island of Phu Quoc. Blanar therefore asked the Vietnamese ambassador to extend visa-free entry for Slovak citizens to the entire country. mf