HÀ NỘI — Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou arrived in Hà Nội on Sunday, beginning her official visit to Việt Nam at the invitation of Vietnamese President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc.
Within the framework of the five-day visit, the Greek President will visit the Monument to Heroic Martyrs and Hồ Chí Minh Mausoleum, hold talks with President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, pay a courtesy visit to Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng, and meet with Chairman of the National Assembly Vương Đình Huệ.
She will also attend a document signing ceremony and meet with the press, visit the Temple of Literature and attend some local events.
The visit is expected to contribute to consolidating political trust and deepening the multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries.
The visit takes place in the context that the traditional friendship is developing fruitfully, with conversations and meetings between the two countries’ leaders maintained despite the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Việt Nam and Greece established diplomatic ties on April 15, 1975. Greece opened its embassy in Hà Nội in March 2007, while Việt Nam opened its embassy in Athens in December 2010 and officially inaugurated it on March 26, 2012.
Despite having to address a public-debt crisis with a range of political, economic and social issues, along with the migration crisis, Greece has placed importance on its relations with Việt Nam.
Two-way trade has grown rapidly over the past five years, surpassing US$446 million in 2021, up 33 per cent year-on-year. Notably, Việt Nam's exports to Greece have expanded strongly and the country has always run a large trade surplus with Greece.
Việt Nam mainly ships footwear, garments-textiles, and aquatic and timber products to Greece. It is noteworthy that from 2013, Việt Nam's mobile phone exports to the Southeast European nation rose significantly, from $73.9 million in 2014 to $116 million in 2020.
The country imports a small volume of paper and paperboard, and materials for tobacco production from Greece.
In development cooperation, Greece has provided aid for ethnic minority groups, flood victims, people with disabilities and Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin victims in Việt Nam, through building a US$200,000 school in the central province of Thừa Thiên-Huế, donating $100,000 to the fund for AO victims, and presenting 100 wheelchairs to local disabled people, among other activities.
Việt Nam and Greece have signed a number of cooperation documents to promote their bilateral ties, including a framework cooperation on collaboration in economy, industry and technology in 1996, another on tourism cooperation in 2007, an agreement on cultural cooperation in 2008, another on investment encouragement and protection in 2008, a tourism agreement in 2013, and one on visa exemption for diplomatic passport holders in 2018, to name but a few.
Greece is one of the first EU countries to ratify the EU-Việt Nam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and back Việt Nam’s candidacy for membership of the UN Human Rights Council for 2023-2025. VNS