Zbigniew Rau held talks with the Vietnamese MPs in the capital Hanoi on Friday, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
Vietnam’s unicameral parliament, the National Assembly, consists of 483 deputies, the majority of whom represent the country’s communist party, according to Polish state news agency PAP.
‘Poland’s best integrated ethnic minority’
Poland’s top diplomat and Vietnamese lawmakers from the group for Vietnamese-Polish friendship discussed “political and economic cooperation and further development of Polish-Vietnamese relations,” officials said.
One of the topics was how to ease procedures for Vietnamese citizens who plan to study in Poland.
Rau highlighted the role of Poland’s Vietnamese community, describing the group as “Poland’s best integrated ethnic minority.”
Ahead of the meeting, the Polish foreign minister told reporters that Poland and Vietnam had “very good relations,” as reflected by his trip to Hanoi.
He added: “Although our political systems differ from each other, our cooperation is highly close and very palpably warm.”
Talks in Vietnam
Rau on Friday also met with Vietnamese graduates of Polish universities, as he wrapped up his visit to the southeast Asian country, which began on Wednesday, the PAP news agency reported.
On Thursday, Poland’s top diplomat met with Vietnam’s Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính, and the two politicians discussed bilateral relations in business and security, as well as "cooperation in education and science,” according to officials.
Earlier in the day, Rau held talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Bui Thanh Son on Polish-Vietnamese bilateral cooperation and international issues, "especially Russia’s aggression against Ukraine," reporters were told.
'Poland’s important partner in Southeast Asia’
In his comments to reporters, the Polish foreign minister described Vietnam as “one of the fastest developing countries” and “Poland’s important partner in Southeast Asia.”
He said that Poland sought “to increase economic cooperation with Vietnam,” and added that "the Vietnamese side is particularly interested in investing in high tech," especially “in the financial and medical sectors, as well as in smart cities and green technology.”
War in Ukraine
Rau told reporters that his talks in Vietnam also focused on the war in Ukraine.
He said: “Vietnam has a different perception of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine than Poland, because Hanoi expects Ukraine and Russia to engage in peace talks.”
Poland’s top diplomat added that this “doesn’t mean Vietnam’s position is pro-Russia” and called Hanoi’s stance “very balanced and open to all points.”
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is set to visit Vietnam next month, Rau announced.
Visit to South Korea
Earlier this week, Rau visited South Korea to discuss “the strategic Polish-South Korean partnership" on security and defence.
While in Seoul, he met with South Korea’s Unification Minister Kwon Young-se, the National Security Bureau chief, Kim Sung-han, and Foreign Minister Park Jin.
These talks focused on bilateral Polish-South Korean ties, especially political and economic cooperation, as well as Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and its consequences for security in the Asia and Pacific region, according to officials.
Poland’s top diplomat also talked with South Korean government ministers about bilateral cooperation in cyber security, joint investment projects and military cooperation, the PAP news agency reported.
Rau also visited the Korean Demilitarised Zone, the buffer zone between South and North Korea, officials said.
Friday is day 387 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, gov.pl