Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk held extensive discussions on major strategic directions and measures, agreeing to consider upgrading their bilateral relations to a strategic partnership in the near future.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his spouse, along with a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, are on an official visit to Poland from January 16 to 18. Following a formal welcoming ceremony, the two leaders conducted a detailed bilateral meeting.

Prime Minister Chinh extended a formal invitation for Prime Minister Tusk to visit Vietnam again soon, which was warmly accepted.

A long-standing friendship

Prime Minister Tusk recalled his fond memories and positive impressions from his visit to Vietnam in 2010, describing Vietnam as a long-standing, close traditional friend of Poland. Vietnam remains one of Poland’s most important partners in Southeast Asia.

Prime Minister Chinh praised Poland's economic and social achievements, noting its rank as the world’s 20th largest economy and its recent role as the President of the European Union Council.

The Vietnamese leader expressed gratitude for Poland's invaluable support during Vietnam’s struggle for national liberation and its current development efforts. He also highlighted Poland’s contributions, including training thousands of Vietnamese engineers, doctors, and scientists, as well as iconic projects like the Vietnam-Poland Friendship Hospital and the Vietnam-Poland High School.

Chinh emphasized Vietnam’s commitment to strengthening the traditional friendship with Poland, a key partner in Central and Eastern Europe.

Strategic partnership goals

Both leaders exchanged views on their countries' respective situations and agreed to consider elevating relations to a strategic partnership based on mutual trust and the successes of their 75-year-long diplomatic history.

Prime Minister Chinh proposed six key measures to achieve this:

Enhancing political trust and advancing towards a strategic partnership.

Positioning economic cooperation as the cornerstone of bilateral relations, aiming for a two-way trade turnover of $5 billion.

Strengthening security and defense collaboration.

Promoting education and training, particularly in digital transformation, green transition, circular economy, and semiconductor manufacturing, supported by the recently signed higher education cooperation agreement.

Boosting labor cooperation, a promising area for both nations.

Facilitating people-to-people exchanges, including Vietnam’s decision to waive visas for Polish citizens starting in 2025.

The two leaders also agreed to coordinate more closely in regional and international forums.

Bolstering economic and cultural ties

Prime Minister Tusk recognized Vietnam as one of the most promising markets in the Asia-Pacific region, highlighting the growing interest of Polish businesses in investing and expanding operations in Vietnam.

He confirmed Poland’s commitment to soon ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and to support the European Commission in lifting the "yellow card" restrictions on Vietnam’s seafood exports to the EU.

In a joint press conference, Tusk described the bilateral relationship as one of camaraderie, noting the shared experiences of the two nations.

Both sides pledged to enhance cooperation across various fields, including defense, trade, science and technology, transport, railway connectivity, pharmaceuticals, education, culture, tourism, and renewable energy. They also expressed a shared interest in opening new avenues for collaboration in agriculture, information technology, and labor.

Poland and Vietnam aim to serve as gateways for each other’s goods into the ASEAN and EU markets.

Prime Minister Chinh expressed gratitude to Poland for supporting the Vietnamese community’s deeper integration into Polish society, including the recognition of the Vietnamese as an official minority group.

The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to working together in multilateral forums to promote peace, security, and development globally.

Tran Thuong