Vietnam, Slovakia elevate ties to strategic partnership during PM Fico’s visit

Prime Minister Hung announced the elevation in Hanoi on Monday at a joint press conference following talks with Fico, who arrived on Sunday for a visit lasting until Tuesday.

Speaking at the media briefing, Hung said the visit carried special significance as it came shortly after Vietnam completed changes to its senior leadership.

He noted that PM Fico was the first foreign leader he had received in his capacity as prime minister, and also the first senior leader of a European Union member state to visit Vietnam since Hanoi and Brussels upgraded their relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership in January.

Hung described the visit as a clear demonstration of Slovakia’s strong respect for Vietnam, as well as the longstanding friendship, trust, and close ties between the two countries.

He said the talks were highly successful, with both sides reaching broad consensus across many areas.

PM Hung announced that the two governments had agreed to elevate bilateral relations to a strategic partnership and issued a joint statement to that effect.

He said the two sides had instructed their foreign ministries to urgently develop an action plan to implement the new framework, aiming to further strengthen cooperation and deliver practical benefits for both peoples and businesses.

Both prime ministers agreed to strengthen political trust and support each other’s roles and positions in the international arena.

They were also committed to making concrete progress in economic, trade, and investment cooperation, including the possible establishment of specialized subcommittees to address barriers and obstacles.

Vietnam welcomed and pledged to create favorable conditions for Slovak businesses and investors, particularly in areas where Slovakia has strengths such as supporting industries, mechanical engineering, automotive manufacturing, chemicals, healthcare, agriculture, and food processing.

Vietnam also encouraged Vietnamese companies to invest in Slovakia, especially in information technology and electric vehicles.

The two sides agreed to effectively utilize the Vietnam–EU Free Trade Agreement, of which Slovakia is a member, as well as the Vietnam–EU Investment Protection Agreement, which Slovakia was among the first countries to ratify.

They also promised to strengthen cooperation in defense and security, including efforts to combat transnational crime, cybercrime, cybersecurity, and other non-traditional security challenges.

In science and technology, both sides aimed to expand cooperation in frontier areas such as semiconductors, quantum technology, robotics, and digital transformation.

They were further committed to restoring and expanding scholarship programs and strengthening direct links between leading universities and research institutions in both countries.

On labor cooperation, both prime ministers agreed to negotiate a new agreement to protect the legitimate rights of workers and facilitate the movement of skilled labor from Vietnam to Slovakia.

Hung said six cooperation documents were signed and exchanged after the talks, covering the fields of defense industry, foreign affairs, culture, economic and scientific cooperation, standardization and quality management, and nuclear energy research.

He added that around 10 more agreements were expected to be signed later the same day at a Vietnam–Slovakia business forum in areas including nuclear energy, security, healthcare, tourism, and shipbuilding.

For his part, Fico thanked Hung and the Vietnamese people for their warm welcome.

Recalling his previous visits to Vietnam, he expressed admiration for the country’s strong development achievements.

Fico said Vietnam and Slovakia were developing very well on the basis of mutual benefit, noting that Vietnam is Slovakia’s largest trading partner in Southeast Asia.

However, he said bilateral economic and trade ties remained below potential, and both sides should further strengthen cooperation across all fields, particularly in trade and investment, to match the newly upgraded strategic partnership and the Vietnam–EU comprehensive strategic partnership.

Fico also highlighted Slovakia’s experience in nuclear energy development and said it was ready to share expertise with Vietnam as the country advances its energy transition.

He said a large Slovak business delegation accompanied him on the visit and stressed that both governments supported business cooperation to turn political commitments into concrete outcomes.

Fico added that Slovakia was ready to cooperate in priority areas such as nuclear energy, the defense industry, finance, and education and training.

He stated that Slovak citizens were increasingly interested in visiting Vietnam and thanked Hanoi for granting visa exemptions to Slovak tourists, expressing hope for a direct air route between the two countries to boost tourism and people-to-people exchanges.

Fico invited Hung to pay an official visit to Slovakia at an early date and called for increased exchanges of delegations at all levels.