President Vo Van Thuong (R) and Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Petr Fiala (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA)– The Vietnamese State and people always value and wish to promote traditionalfriendship lasting over 70 years with the Czech Republic in all areas, saidPresident Vo Van Thuong.

During a reception inHanoi on April 21 for Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Petr Fiala, who ison Vietnam visit from April 20-22, President Thuong thanked the Czech Republic’sGovernment and people for providing invaluable support for Vietnam in the paststruggle for national liberation and reunification and the current nationaldevelopment.

He hailed mutual supportthat the two countries offered to each other in the fight against COVID-19.

Fiala, for his part,affirmed that the Czech Republic always values the development of ties withVietnam, its most important partner in ASEAN.

Speaking highly of theoutcomes of talks between the two PMs, Thuong suggested both sides work closely together to carry out agreements reachedduring the visit, fully tap existing potential and opportunities to furtherenhance bilateral cooperation in the new period. This could be achieved throughfacilitating the exchange of delegations at all levels, promoting economic-tradeand investment cooperation, leveraging the tradition of collaboration ineducation-training, and stepping up tourism and people-to-people exchanges.

Agreeing with thePresident’s proposals, Fiala affirmed that the two governments will continuecreating favourable conditions for the two countries’ firms to expandoperations.

He proposed bolsteringcoordination in politics, diplomacy, economy-trade,and people-to-people exchange through the early opening of a direct air routebetween the two countries and the inauguration of a Czech cultural centre inVietnam.

Both sides agreed to continue workingclosely together and supporting each other at multilateral forums andinternational organisations, especially at the United Nations, ASEM and within the ASEAN-EUcooperation framework, foﷺr the sake of peace, cooperation, and development inthe region and the world.

At the reception (Photo: VNA)

About security issue, including the East Sea issue, the twoleaders underscored the need to settle disputes through peaceful measures,including diplomatic and legal processes in line with international law,particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

President Thuong suggested the Czech Government continue offering all possible support to theVietnamese community to settle down their lives. He believed that the Vietnamese community willcontinue upholding their active role as a bridge promoting economic and tourismcooperation and cultural exchange, contributing to bilateral friendlycooperation across the board.

He took this occasion 🌠to ask PM Fiala to convey his invitation to President ofthe Czech Republic Petr Pavel to visit Vietnam at a convenient time./.&🌳nbsp;