Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s official trip to Poland from January 16-18 plays a pivotal role in bolstering the bilateral relations in the coming time, demonstrating the two countries’ commitment to maintai🦹ning and developing their time-tested and sustainable ties, according to Vietnamese Ambassador to Poland Ha Hoang Hai.

In a recent interview with the Vietnam News Agency, Ambassador Hai stressed that the visit takes place in the context of complicated and unprecedented developments across the globe, affirming Vietnam’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation, and diversification of external relations, as well as its role as a trustworthy partner and responsible member of the international community. Besides, it also spotlights Vietnam’s appreciation for the time-honoured friendship with countries in East – Central Europe. Hai emphasised that the visit comes at a crucial time when Poland has assumed the rotating presidency of the European Union (EU) Council since January 1, 2025. It is particularly significant as Vietnam and the EU are commemorating 35 years of the diplomatic relations and working towards elevating their partnership to a comprehensive strategic level.

The diplomatic relationship between the two countries dated back to February 4, 1950, when Poland became one of the earliest countries to establish diplomatic ties with Vietnam. Throughout the years, Poland has demonstrated strong support for Vietnam, notably being the only nation to send thousands of officers to participate in both ceasefire commissions following the 1954 Geneva Accords and the 1973 Paris Agreement. The European country also helped Vietnam train thousands of officials and engineers for national construction during peace time while supplying the country with masks and millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccines. He went on to highlight the substantial growth in the bilateral economic ties, with Poland emerging as Vietnam's largest trading partner in East-Central Europe. Vietnamese products, including textiles, confectionery, food, and agricultural products, have gained popularity in Polish markets, while Polish agricultural products and food items have been available at Vietnamese supermarkets. The ambassador highlighted the successful integration of the 30,000-strong Vietnamese community in Poland, who have made significant contributions to maintaining and developing the traditional and multifaceted ties between the two countries. Additionally, educational cooperation has been an important area in the bilateral ties, with Poland having trained over 4,000 Vietnamese students and scientific personnel, and more than 3,500 skilled workers between the 1960s and early 1990s. Against the backdrop, PM Chinh’s visit is significant to improving political trust while bringing the traditional cooperation sectors such as economy, trade, labour, culture, and human resources training to a new period, meeting the development requirements in each nation, as well as bolstering collaboration in the potential domains of science – technology, information and communications, pharmaceuticals and innovation. Alongside serving as an opportunity for the two countries to step up connectivity between Vietnam and East-Central Europe, and Poland and the ASEAN bloc, the trip will help them to foster coordination in settling global issues, contributing to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world. Looking ahead, Hai underscored that as Vietnam and Poland, both boasting dynamic development in the regions, have sketched out their own orientations and long-term visions, they should enhance the exchange of delegations at all levels and promote the efficacy of consulting mechanisms to fortify cooperation in potential sectors like tourism, science-technology, AI, and renewable energy. The ambassador also mentioned several commemorative activities planned for 2025, including an art exhibition celebrating Vietnam's 80th National Day and the 75th anniversary of the diplomatic relations./.