Polish honorary consul Piotr Frieske (left) joins a meeting with director of Đà Nẵng City's foreign affairs department Nguyễn Xuân Bình. Poland opens its honorary consul office, providing service in nine central coastal provinces and cities from Hà Tĩnh to Phú Yên. — VNS Photo Công Thành

Piotr Frieske, honorary consul of Poland in Đà Nẵng, said the introduction of the office would build a bridge between Poland and Đà Nẵng for stronger co-operation in industries, economy and culture.

Piotr Frieske has been living and working in Đà Nẵng for over 10 years, and he is a managing director of CVR - Central Vietnam Realty.

He said the two sides would seek to connect businesses in Poland and universities in Đà Nẵng, providing internships for Vietnamese students in central Việt Nam to boost working experience in Poland.

The Polish consul office will provide service for nine central coastal provinces and cities of Hà Tĩnh, Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị, Thừa Thiên Huế, Quảng Nam, Quảng Ngãi, Bình Định, Phú Yên and Đà Nẵng.

Director of Đà Nẵng City’s department for foreign affairs Nguyễn Xuân Bình said the establishment of the consul office would help strengthen the 70-year historical friendship ties between the two countries.

Bình said Đà Nẵng has been seeking sea port and airport infrastructure investment projects, and investors from Poland would join the development in the city.

Việt Nam is one of top five trading partners of Poland in the Asia-Pacific region, while Poland is a leading partner in central East Europe, Bình said.

He also expressed thanks to Poland for donating vaccines and medical equipment to Việt Nam in dealing with COVID-19.

Poland has helped Việt Nam in relic restoration in Thừa Thiên Huế, Hội An and Mỹ Sơn Sanctuary over the past decades.

A statue of Polish archaeologist and architect Kazimierz Kwiatkowski, known as ‘Kazik’ (1944-1997), who significantly contributed to the preservation and restoration of the Complex of Huế Monuments, Mỹ Sơn Sanctuary and Hội An Ancient Town in the central province of Quảng Nam, was erected in Hội An in 2018.

The statue of Kazik was installed in a park named after him on Trần Phú Street, Hội An.

Đà Nẵng has not yet seen investment from Poland, but about 145 Polish people have registered for temporary residential status.

Đà Nẵng is home to consular offices of Japan, Korea, Laos, Russia, China and Spain, while a Schengen visa application centre for receiving visa applications to European countries, including Belgium, Germany and Italy, opened in 2019.

The new joint United Kingdom and Australia Visa Application Centre was also inaugurated in the city to from 2016. — VNS