Minister receives Slovenian Deputy PM and Minister for Foreign and European Affairs

At the meeting, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien and the Slovenian official reviewed a number of cooperation results between Vietnam and Slovenia over the past time, and discussed activities planned for 2023.

Although Slovenia is a small country with more than two million people, the Vietnam-Slovenia bilateral trade turnover increased sharply from US$46.1 million in 2012 to over US$573 million in 2022. Despite the negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and instability of the world economy, the two countries’ trade turnover enjoyed its year-on-year growth rates of 38.3 percent and 14.8 percent in 2021 and in 2022, respectively.

Minister Nguyen Hong Dien said that the potential and prospects in trade cooperation of the two countries in the coming time are very large, serving as a good premise for businesses of the two countries to build and develop a cooperative relationship and diversify supply chains, especially for advantageous sectors of each side, such as agriculture and fisheries, textiles and garments, leather and footwear, furniture, household appliances of Vietnam or chemicals, pharmaceuticals, electronic products, and machinery of Slovenia.

In the coming time, the two countries need to cooperate more closely and effectively, especially in the field of trade and investment, especially effectively tapping into the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

Slovenian Deputy PM and Minister for Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon affirmed that Slovenia always considers Vietnam an important economic partner in Southeast Asia, especially in the fields of energy, logistics and pharmaceuticals which Slovenia has practical experience. Slovenian enterprises can also provide expertise in the areas of energy transport/logistics, pharmaceuticals, high technology and renewable energy, especially photovoltaic technologies.

Minister Dien and the Slovenian official look forward to the next meeting of the Vietnam - Slovenia Intergovernmental Committee which will take place in October 2023 in Slovenia after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the meeting, representative units under the Ministry of Industry and Trade exchanged views and answered questions of Slovenian businesses regarding cooperation and investment opportunities between the two sides, especially in the fields of logistics and marine transport.

This visit of the Slovenian Deputy PM and Minister for Foreign Affairs is an important step in strengthening the bilateral relations between Vietnam and Slovenia in both realms of politics and economy, opening up activities for the exchange of all-level delegations, especially in 2024 when the two countries mark the 30th founding anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic relations.