First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Vesna Pusić received Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son. Expressing satisfaction with the good Croatian-Vietnamese political relations, Pusić said Croatia was interested in strengthening the economic cooperation with Vietnam and other Asian countries. She informed Son about the government and economic diplomacy’s activities in promoting economy and creating a favourable investment climate, underlining the potential areas of cooperation, namely using Croatian ports for placing Vietnamese goods on European markets.
Deputy FM Son confirmed the traditionally good relations between Vietnam and Croatia, which this year are marking the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations. He expressed interest in signing bilateral treaties as a legal framework for the strengthening of economic cooperation, adding that Vietnam was seeking to strengthen cooperation in education, including student exchange, as well as tourism given Croatia’s vast experience which could be of benefit to the Vietnamese tourist sector. Pusić said that in September started the first year of the Specialist Study “Diplomacy”, co-founded by the University of Zagreb and MFEA, which can be attended by Vietnamese students as well.
Pusić and Son agreed that Croatia’s entering the EU opened up new prospects for cooperation, notably within the EU-ASEAN mechanism and ASEM dialogue. Pusić thanked Vietnam for its support for Croatia’s ASEM membership.
Son said that the coming into effect of the EU-Vietnamese Partnership and Cooperation Agreement signed in 2012 as well as the Free Trade Agreement should intensify the Croatian-Vietnamese relations as well.