This was the statement made by Mr. Nguyen Quang Vinh, Vice President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), at the Vietnam-Slovakia Business Forum, held in Ho Chi Minh City on the morning of April 15th.

Speaking at the Forum, VCCI Vice President Nguyen Quang Vinh said that, establishing diplomatic relations in 1950, Vietnam and Slovakia have now spent nearly 80 years together preserving and developing the good and traditional relationship.

He stated that Vietnam has always valued and wished to strengthen relations with Slovakia, a traditional friendly partner in the "heart" of Europe. Slovakia considers Vietnam its most important partner in Southeast Asia. This strong and trustworthy political and diplomatic relationship will serve as a foundation and favorable condition for robust trade and investment development between two countries.

“Slovakia is located in the heart of Central Europe, strategically connecting Eastern and Western Europe. Vietnam is also a gateway to ASEAN. We have many advantages for mutual development. To further promote economic, trade, and investment cooperation between the two countries, both sides need to coordinate to leverage potential advantages and better utilize the opportunities offered by the Free Trade Agreement,” VCCI Vice President Nguyen Quang Vinh assessed.

At the same time, he suggested that both sides should also consider opening direct flights and cargo transportation routes. Businesses themselves also need to be more proactive in seeking business cooperation opportunities, primarily through activities such as today's bilateral business forum.

"I believe there is still a lot of potential, but you need to take advantage of the Vietnam-EU FTA to achieve better goals in 2026, especially after Prime Minister Robert Fico's visit and in the years to come," VCCI Vice President Nguyen Quang Vinh emphasized.

According to VCCI Vice President Nguyen Quang Vinh, VCCI is the national organization representing the business community in Vietnam, with over 200,000 businesses and 200 member business associations. Each year, VCCI regularly organizes hundreds of activities to support the business community in enhancing competitiveness and connecting with foreign businesses to find potential partners and markets.

VCCI places particular emphasis on developing programs and activities to support businesses in maximizing the benefits from the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) that Vietnam has signed with its partners recently, including the FTA between Vietnam and the EU. The Vietnamese business community and partner countries have strongly supported and highly praised the activities that VCCI organized and implemented.

To support trade and investment promotion and assist the business community, VCCI has collaborated and signed cooperation agreements with nearly 200 partners, including international trade promotion organizations. It is also a leading organization in Vietnam, representing the Vietnamese business community in advising the Government and relevant ministries on the development of laws that facilitate business and investment activities. VCCI will always be an active bridge supporting the Vietnamese and international business communities, including those in Slovakia.

“I believe that with the Government’s attention, the close and active cooperation of relevant agencies, the efforts of VCCI and the Slovak Trade and Investment Development Agency, bilateral trade and investment relations between Vietnam and Slovakia will continue to develop, and the business communities of both sides will have many opportunities for cooperation,” emphasized VCCI Vice President Nguyen Quang Vinh.