Vienna (VNA) – PrimeMinister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and the high-ranking Vietnamese Government delegationleft Vienna on the afternoon of October 16 (local time), concluding theofficial trip to Austria.

The PM set off for Brussels to attendthe 12th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit and pay official visits to Belgiumand Denmark.

Before leaving, PM Phuc visited theIMC University of Applied Sciences Krems (IMC Krems) of Austria on the morning thesame day.

Talking to the university’s lecturers andstudents, he said the Vietnamese people always keep in mind the support of the Austrianyouth during the country’s fight against foreign invaders in the 1960s. In the1970s, Austria was one of the first western nations to set up diplomatic tieswith Vietnam.

Over the last four decades, friendship andcooperation between the two nations have developed in multiple areas,especially economy. Vietnam has maintained its position as Austria’s largestSoutheast Asian trade partner, while Austria has remained Vietnam’s top 10export markets within the European Union.

Austria’s development assistance in healthcare, therailway sector, and vocational training has been effective in helping Vietnamimprove people’s living standards, he noted.

PM Phuc added after over the last 30 years ofreform, Vietnam has been developing dynamically, with its young population holdingstrong aspirations to study and become established in the global community. Itconsiders education a top priority and a breakthrough to maximising learners’chances. Education is also a priority field of cooperation between the twocountries for the time ahead.

[Photos: Vie🅠tnamese PM welcomed, has talks with Austrian Chan♈cellor in Vienna]

Emphasising the opportunities and challengesfacing Vietnamese and Austrian youth, the PM said the Fourth IndustrialRevolution is creating opportunities for the two countries to become closer, improvemutual understanding, and increase the sharing of global communityresponsibilities.

Although peace and development are still a dominanttheme, the use or threat to use force and the emergence of unilateralismcontinue to jeopardise international peace and security. War and conflicts,religious and racial conflicts, separatism, and terrorism still exist in manyplaces around the world, noted the PM.

Additionally, there are other global challengeslike unsustainable development, climate change, wealth inequality, genderinequality, environmental degradation, unemployment, and social crimes. Theyhave been threatening efforts towards sustainable development with youngergenerations among the most vulnerable groups, he said.

The leader expressed his belief that the youngpeople of Vietnam and Austria will be one of the bridges enhancing bilateralfriendship and contributing to peace, stability, cooperation, development, andprosperity in their respective regions.

On this occasion, PM Phuc witnessed the signingof a cooperation agreement between IMC Krems and the Vietnam University ofCommerce.

Also on October 16, he visited Austria’s BIOMINResearch Centre.–VNA