In 1993, Slovakia split from the Czechoslovak Federation. Vietnam and Slovakia declared to continue relationship between Vietnam and former Czechoslovakia, taking February 2, 1950 as the day of bilateral diplomatic relations establishment. Since 1993, Vietnam - Slovakia relations have been positively developing but bilateral economic cooperation is seen incommensurate to potentials of the both sides.
Economic cooperation between the two sides has not come up with expectations because of their unfavourable potentials and demands but the bilateral trade turnover still hovers at US$100 million a year. Vietnam mainly exports chemicals and equipment to the European nation. The Vietnam - Slovakia Intergovernmental Committee was established in 1997 and organised the second meeting in Bratislava in April 2001. In some occasions, Slovakia put forth specific cooperation areas like energy industry (nuclear energy), machinery manufacturing industry and defence industry (construction machinery, road builders, hydraulic equipment, tractors, textile machines, military equipment), chemical and pharmaceutical industries (medicine production, medical equipment supply), leather and footwear industry, transportation industry (railway modernisation), construction industry (infrastructure designing and construction), agriculture and food industry (preservation technology, vegetable processing, beer production). Economic and trade cooperation programmes are now directional and businesses in both countries need to take on specific projects.
Slovakia's investment in Vietnam is humble. The first project was licensed in Vietnam in 2010 with a total investment capital of US$100 million, making Slovakia the 36th largest investor out 92 countries and territories with direct investment capital in Vietnam. In 2011, Slovakia had another US$100 project to build a hotel - office complex in Ho Chi Minh City and Lac Thinh Industrial Park construction project worth 378 million euro in Hoa Binh province.
Education - training cooperation also progressed. Since 2005, the Government of Slovakia has granted 2-3 scholarships for higher education and postgraduate courses for Vietnamese people. In 2009 and 2010, it handed two postgraduate scholarships to Vietnamese. The two sides are now considering an agreement on education - training cooperation in the 2010-2013 period. From 2007 to 2009, about 1,000 Vietnamese workers came to Slovakia to work, mainly foreign-invested factories. In 2010, due to global financial and economic crisis, many Vietnamese workers were laid off. Hence, this field of cooperation will not be resumed in the near term.
Dr Doan Duy Khuong, Vice Executive President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and Chairman of the Vietnam - Slovakia Friendship Association, said: Although trade and investment relations between the two business communities are growing year after year but trade turnover is incommensurate to the potential and demands of the two economies. With a flexible economic mechanism, Vietnam is a good bridge for Slovak goods to enter the ASEAN market and other Asian countries well as. In turn, Slovakia is also an important partner and gateway for Vietnamese goods to make inroads into the European Union.
Tran Tung
Vietnamese
