Lithuanian President’s Vietnam visit expected to open new chapter in bilateral ties: Ambassador

Hanoi (VNA) – The official visit to Vietnam by Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and his spouse from June 11-12 will opening a new chapter in the bilateral relations in a rapidly changing international context with many intertwisted opportunities and challenges, Vietnamese Ambassador to Poland and Lithuania Ha Hoang Hai has said.

Speaking to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)'s correspondent ahead the visit, Hai said this is the first high-level visit by a Lithuanian head of state to Vietnam in many years, demonstrating the two countries' appreciation for the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Lithuania.

The ambassador described the Vietnam-Lithuania relationship as a traditional friendship built and nurtured over the past three decades, since the two countries officially established diplomatic relations on March 18, 1992. The outstanding characteristics of this relationship are political trust, goodwill for cooperation and high complementarity between the two economies despite differences in scale and geography.

Vietnam always considers Lithuania a sincere friend and partner in the Central Eastern European region, while Lithuania highly appreciates Vietnam's increasing role in Southeast Asia and in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The two countries share many similarities in their visions of sustainable development, international integration, digital transformation and adaptation to global challenges such as climate change, energy security or supply chains.

In terms of politics and diplomacy, Vietnam and Lithuania have maintained coordination at multilateral forums such as the United Nations, the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and ASEAN-European Union. Lithuania always supports important agreements between Vietnam and the EU such as the EU - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU - Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), creating an important legal and commercial foundation for expanding economic and investment cooperation between the two sides.

In addition, the Vietnamese community in Lithuania, although not large in number, has always integrated well, preserved its cultural identity and made positive contributions to the local society. This is a lively and effective bridge of friendship between the people of the two countries, contributing to enhancing mutual understanding and deepening the bilateral relations.

The focuses of the visit will be talks and meetings between President Nauseda and leaders of the Party, State, Government and National Assembly of Vietnam. This is an opportunity for the two sides to assess the overall bilateral relationship, exchange strategic visions on regional and international issues of mutual concern, and propose new cooperation orientations in line with the development conditions of the two countries in the coming period.

The visit is expected to witness the signing of a number of cooperation documents in potential areas such as trade - investment, education - training, high-tech agriculture, healthcare, clean energy and digital transformation. In addition, investment promotion activities, a business forum and community connections between the two sides will also be organised to create practical conditions for more substantial and sustainable economic - trade cooperation.

Hai believed that the visit will contribute to strengthening political trust and promoting strategic connectivity between Vietnam and Lithuania, especially within the framework of ASEAN - EU cooperation.

The two countries have all the conditions to develop a more substantive, effective and comprehensive partnership, on the basis of complementary interests, mutual respect and the goal of sustainable development, the diplomat said.

Regarding potential for further cooperation, Hai said that Vietnam and Lithuania have many promising areas of cooperation, especially when the two economies are highly complementary and are both moving towards sustainable development models, green transition and digital transformation.

According to the ambassador, the two nations can boost partnerships in the fields of economy - trade - investment, digital transformation, innovation, financial technology, education – training, science and technology, high-tech agriculture, healthcare - pharmaceuticals, environmental protection, tourism - culture and high-quality labour. These areas not only bring economic efficiency but also contribute to enriching the foundation of people-to-people exchanges, and enhancing mutual understanding and connection between the two nations.

With the foundation of solid friendship, political goodwill from both sides and the need for mutual development, Vietnam - Lithuania relations will continue to flourish strongly, substantially and comprehensively in the coming time, he emphasised./.