Many opinions in the Czech Republic have shared the view that the agreements reached during Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s official visit to the European country from April 16-17 have opened up new directions for bilateral cooperation in the time ahead.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (back row, centre) and his Czech counterpart Andrej Babis (third, right) witness the signing of cooperation deals between the two countries

Chairman of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia Vojtech Filip, who is also First Deputy Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, told the Vietnam News Agency that PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s trip to the Czech Republic was very successful. 

At the talks and meetings between the Vietnamese leader and PM Andrej Babis, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Radek Vondracek and President Milos Zeman of the Czech Republic, the two sides reached consensus on many cooperation programmes in the time ahead.

He hailed the talks between the two PMs that also discussed measures to remove obstacles in labour cooperation so as to continue granting visas for Vietnamese labourers to work in the Czech Republic, thereby helping to promote bilateral economic links.

Czech officials are set to pay a working visit to Vietnam in June to continue discussing orientations for realising the agreements reached by the two PMs, he noted.

Filip said as Chairman of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia and First Deputy Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, he always evaluates and supports the important role of Vietnamese people in serving as a bridge linking the two countries. He also pledged more assistance for the community to better integrate into local society.

Meanwhile, Vaclav Rehor, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vaclav Havel Prague Airport, described the Vietnam-Czech Republic business forum that was held during the visit as successful as many cooperation deals were inked. 

Among them, the Vaclav Havel Prague Airport and Bamboo Airways of Vietnam signed a memorandum of understanding on the opening of a direct air route between the two countries in late 2019. This is a potential agreement as it is estimated that there will be about 70,000 passengers flying on the route each year, he added.

Jakub Musil, a reporter of the Czech Television, said that in an interview following the business forum on April 17, PM Andrej Babis affirmed that he strongly supports the early launching of a direct air route between the two countries so as to help facilitate bilateral partnerships in not only trade but also tourism.

Musil also noted the Vietnamese community is one of the biggest communities of foreigners in the Czech Republic, and the visit by the Vietnamese PM would intensify cooperative ties between the two nations.