Warsaw (VNA) – ♏Vietnam and Poland discussed and agreed on major measures to beef up trade and economic partnership at the second economic consultation meeting held in Warsaw as part of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s ongoing official visit to the European country.

Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien, and Polish Minister of Economic Development and Technology Krystof Paszyk co-chaired the meeting, in which they laid stress on the significance of bilateral collaboration across trade, industry, mineral exploitation, innovation, semiconductor, digital transformation, agriculture and pharmaceuticals as the two countries are celebrating the 75th founding anniversary of diplomatic relations. The ministers also discussed emerging trends in bilateral trade and ways to facilitate trade and investment, particularly leveraging the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) to enable each country's strong products to penetrate the other's market. Dien underscored that the both nations boast huge potential to capitalise on the free trade pact, making Poland a gateway for Vietnamese goods to enter the EU market and Vietnam a bridge for Polish products to penetrate into the ASEAN market. Despite global headwinds, Vietnam’s GDP growth rebounded to 7.09% in 2024 as compared to 5.05% in the previous year, demonstrating robust recovery across manufacturing, processing, retail sales, consumer services, and export. Last year, two-way trade volume reached 3.4 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 21.7%. However, Dien said the figures lagged behind the potential and strengths of the two countries. He spotlighted untapped potential in pharmaceutical cooperation, calling for foreign investment in Vietnam's medicine, vaccine, and medical equipment manufacturing sector. The initiative includes technology transfer for new pharmaceuticals, biologic drugs, and medical equipment production.

Welcoming Poland’s proposals to expand cooperation in semiconductor, agriculture, environment, sustainable solutions, and sewage management, among others, Dien suggested the two countries promote discussions and support each other in responding to climate change and delivering on greenhouse gas emissions target. Vietnam encourages both sides to share experience in building policies and strategies to accelerate digital transformation, he said, adding they should work together in such domains as development of digital platforms, digital human resources training, cyber security solutions, and application of digital technology in smart agriculture. Climate change emerged as a key focus area, with Vietnam reaffirming its commitment at COP26 to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The country is seeking Poland’s expertise in energy transition and efficient energy use technologies, Dien stated. He urged Poland to support Vietnam in removing the European Commission’s yellow card against its seafood and expediting the ratification of the EU – Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA). The partnership should be expanded to retail distribution networks, he said, proposing closer cooperation between Polish retail groups and Vietnamese manufacturers to facilitate Vietnamese branded products' entry into the Polish and EU markets while developing Vietnam as a regional supply hub. Amidst formidable challenges across the globe, it is necessary for the two countries to cooperate closely and effectively, especially in trade, industry and energy transition to better their resilience. Enhanced economic and trade collaboration both bilaterally and in the framework of the ASEAN and EU blocs will benefit the two countries, he added. Paszyk, for his part, said Poland has recognised Vietnam as its most crucial trading partner among ASEAN nations and a premier investment destination in the Asia-Pacific region, expressing his hope for trade balance and expansion of trading goods. A notable development was the successful entry of Polish blueberry in the Vietnamese market following the third meeting of the Poland-Vietnam working group on agriculture, he said, suggesting more dialogues between phytosanitary organisations to promote market access for high-quality Polish agricultural products in the Southeast Asian country. Poland has initiated internal procedures to ratify the EVIPA, he added. The meeting concluded with both ministers signing the minutes outlining key initiatives for economic cooperation. The third consultation event is scheduled to take place in Hanoi in 2027./.