Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong’supcoming official visit to Austria will help tighten relations between the two countries, Austrian Ambassador to Vietnam Hans-Peter Glanzer has said.

The ambassador made the comment in an interview granted to the Vietnam NewsAgency (VNA) on the threshold of President Thuong’s visit. Following is the full text ofthe interview.

Reporter: How do you evaluate the achievements inVietnam-Austria relations, especially as the two countries celebrated their 50years of diplomatic relations in 2022?

Ambassador Hans-Peter Glanzer: Last year we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam andAustria. I think it was an excellent opportunity to take stock of our bilateralrelations.

Austria was one of the first countries to establish suchrelations with Vietnam back in 1972. Since then, relations have developed in anexcellent way in various fields, be it political, economic or academic.

Economic relations have developed very well. We have seenbilateral trade volume between Vietnam and Austria has increased many folds inthe last 20 years. And last year, we saw a new peak of 1.65 billion EUR (1.8billion USD) in our trade volume, and I have to say it's a high surplus infavour of Vietnam.

Vietnam is our largest trading partner in the ASEAN regionand Austria is between the fifth and seventh most important export market for Vietnamin Europe. That trend was further strengthened by the free trade agreementbetween the European Union and Vietnam, which entered into force in 2020.

I would also like to mention Austrian investments in Vietnam- we have around 60 Austrian companies with subsidiaries in Vietnam, and aroundone-third of these companies are engaged in the manufacturing sector.

Reporter: What is the significance of Vietnamese PresidentVo Van Thuong's upcoming visit to Austria to bilateral cooperation?

Ambassador Hans-Peter Glanzer: It is very good to see visits at a highpolitical level, which are so important for fostering our bilateral relationsthat have been resumed after the COVID-19 pandemic. Vietnamese Foreign MinisterBui Thanh Son visited Austria at the end of September last year, and ourForeign Minister Alexander Schallenberg was here in Vietnam in mid-April thisyear.

The visit of President Vo Van Thuong to Austria is of greatimportance and significance because the visit will help further strengthen ourbilateral relations. We are looking forward to intensifying our cooperation inthe economic and educational fields. I think such a visit is always a goodopportunity to intensify cooperation and to push further certain projects.

Reporter: How are Vietnam-Austria ties expected to evolve inthe future?

Ambassador Hans-Peter Glanzer: I see great potential for further deepening ourfriendly relations. For example, in the economic field, there's definitely moreroom for Austrian investments in Vietnam. Vietnam's dynamic economicdevelopment, its young population and the growing middle class make the countryan attractive location for Austrian companies.

Austria can support Vietnam in various fields - for example,in strengthening its industrial capacity, but also with the green economy inthe field of renewable energies, and in developing public infrastructure,including the health care sector. There are many opportunities andpossibilities.

Vice versa, we also see a lot of opportunities forVietnamese companies in Austria and Vietnamese investment and Austria. Austriais centrally located in Europe and can also be used as a kind of springboardfor other regions in the continent.

In this context, Austria has also provided soft loans in thelast year of around 350 million EUR for, among others, the development of thehealth care sector and transport infrastructure, like the railway sector.

We also see quite a lot of potential for increasedcooperation in the educational and academic field, for example, in the field ofvocational training, or in the intensified cooperation between the twodiplomatic academies, the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam and the DiplomaticAcademy in Vienna, for example.

Reporter: How do you feel about cooperation between Vietnam and Austria atmultilateral forums, such as the United Nations, ASEM and ASEAN-EU?

Ambassador Hans-Peter Glanzer: We are facing multiple challenges and crises atthe global level, which require cooperation and solidarity as well as a strongmultilateral system more than ever. Thus it is important and in the very owninterest of our two countries that we pursue active multilateralism both at aglobal and regional level, be it in the framework of the United Nations orregional ones like ASEAN-EU. I think that is valid for both countries.

One of the big challenges we are facing is climate change. We very much welcomethe ambitious goal of Vietnam to become carbon neutral by 2050.

Another global challenge which required common responses andinternational cooperation was the COVID-19 pandemic - Austria supported theVietnamese in fighting the pandemic by donating vaccines.

The foundation for our cooperation is the respect for and commitment to arules-based international order, which both of our countries strongly support;this is also important with regard to safe, free and open trade routes. We allmust be interested in the respect for the sovereignty and integrity of nationsand the Charter of the United Nations.

Reporter: Thank you very much!