On the afternoon of July 30, following their discussions, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son and EC Vice President Josep Borrell Fontelles enjoyed coffee and viewed famous Vietnamese artworks at the Vietnam National Museum of Fine Arts.

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The folding screen with one side depicting "Young Woman in the Garden" and the other side depicting "Landscape" by Nguyen Gia Tri.

The Vietnam National Museum of Fine Arts houses and displays 20,000 valuable artifacts, sculptures, paintings, and graphic works from ancient to modern times.

EC Vice President Josep Borrell Fontelles explored several nationally recognized Vietnamese artworks, including the screen "Young Woman in the Garden" and "Landscape" by Nguyen Gia Tri; the lacquer painting "Uncle Ho in the Viet Bac Resistance Zone" by Duong Bich Lien; and the painting "Little Thuy" by Tran Van Can.

When viewing " Little Thuy," the Museum's Director, Nguyen Anh Minh, remarked that while the world has the famous Mona Lisa, Vietnam has its own "Mona Lisa" in this painting.

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The Vice President of the European Commission paused for a long time to admire the painting "Little Thuy."
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He was also given a detailed introduction about President Ho Chi Minh and the painting "Uncle Ho in the Viet Bac Resistance Zone."

After viewing the artworks, under the shade of lush trees in the museum courtyard, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son and EC Vice President Josep Borrell Fontelles enjoyed iced milk coffee and discussed various cooperation issues.

Joining them were Ambassador Nguyen Van Thao, Head of the Vietnamese Delegation to the EU, and EU Ambassador to Vietnam, Julien Guerrier.

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The Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Vice President of the European Commission enjoyed coffee together.
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Joining the two leaders in enjoying coffee were Ambassador and Head of the Vietnamese Delegation to the EU Nguyen Van Thao, and EU Ambassador to Vietnam Julien Guerrier.

During a press conference following their morning meeting, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son expressed gratitude to Josep Borrell Fontelles for representing the EU at the State Funeral of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. This gesture demonstrated the EU's and Fontelles' respect for General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and Vietnam.

EC Vice President Josep Borrell Fontelles expressed his deep condolences to the Vietnamese people for the passing of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, acknowledging his significant contributions to Vietnam's international role and the enhancement of Vietnam-EU relations.

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The Vice President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell Fontelles.

Both sides expressed satisfaction with the positive developments in Vietnam-EU relations, particularly in political-diplomatic, trade-investment, defense-security, development cooperation, justice, and agriculture sectors.

The EU is the largest provider of non-refundable aid and one of Vietnam's leading trade-investment partners. The Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), after nearly four years of implementation, has boosted bilateral trade positively.

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The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bui Thanh Son, spoke at the press conference.

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The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bui Thanh Son, and the Vice President of the European Commission had a successful meeting characterized by frank, open, constructive, and mutually trusting exchanges.

The EU is currently Vietnam's fourth-largest trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching $58.5 billion in 2023 and $24.7 billion in the first half of this year, a 16% increase over the same period in 2023. The EU is the fifth-largest investor in Vietnam, with total cumulative FDI nearing $30 billion. Vietnam is the EU's 16th largest trading partner and the largest in ASEAN.

Regarding future cooperation, both sides agreed to effectively utilize existing cooperation mechanisms to address issues and propose new collaborations. They emphasized the need to enhance cooperation in science and technology, environment, climate change response, human resource training, sustainable development, UN peacekeeping, war aftermath resolution, and crime prevention.

Tran Thuong - Pham Hai