Hanoi, May 19, 2026 – The Europe Today: Prime Minister of Vietnam Lê Minh Hưng on Monday reaffirmed that Việtnam always values strengthening and expanding relations with its traditional European partners, including Croatia, during a meeting with Croatian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman in Hànội.
Welcoming the Croatian minister and a delegation of leading Croatian enterprises, Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng said the visit carries significant importance in further promoting the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries in a more substantive and effective manner.
The Vietnamese leader congratulated Croatia on its recent socio-economic achievements, particularly its successful accession to the Eurozone and the Schengen Area in 2023. He also praised Croatia’s growing role and position within the European Union and the Central and Eastern European region.
Prime Minister Hưng proposed enhancing exchanges of delegations at all levels, especially high-level visits, while promoting cooperation among ministries, sectors, localities, and businesses of both countries to deepen political trust and create fresh momentum for bilateral ties.
Highlighting the strong potential for economic collaboration, he called for more substantive progress in trade, investment, and economic cooperation. The Prime Minister said both countries should work towards doubling bilateral trade turnover from the current level of US$161 million and explore the establishment of a Joint Committee on Economic Cooperation to create a stable and effective long-term framework for collaboration.
He also encouraged Croatian businesses to invest in sectors where Croatia has strengths and Việt Nam has demand, including seaports, logistics, renewable energy, tourism, science and technology, digital transformation, innovation, and climate change response.
The Prime Minister urged Croatia to continue playing an active role within the European Union by encouraging the remaining member states to ratify the EU–Việt Nam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), which he said would help generate breakthroughs in trade and investment cooperation between Việt Nam and the EU.
He further expressed hope that Croatia would support the European Commission’s early removal of the “yellow card” imposed on Vietnamese seafood exports, citing Việt Nam’s serious efforts to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
For his part, Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman said he was honoured to make his first official visit to Việt Nam on the occasion of the 136th birth anniversary of Ho Chi Minh, whom he described as “a symbol of humanity’s dignity and conscience.”
The Croatian minister congratulated Việt Nam on its achievements in socio-economic development, foreign affairs, and international integration, while affirming that Croatia highly values its traditional friendship with Việt Nam and recognises the country’s important role in promoting peace, security, and cooperation in the region.
Describing Việt Nam as one of Croatia’s most important partners in Southeast Asia, he expressed a desire to further strengthen substantive cooperation in economy, trade, investment, defence-security, science and technology, education and training, energy, tourism, logistics, and business connectivity.
Minister Radman voiced strong support for the cooperation proposals put forward by Prime Minister Hưng and reaffirmed Croatia’s readiness to work closely with Việt Nam to effectively implement bilateral cooperation mechanisms, expand political consultations, and strengthen business-to-business engagement.
He also praised Việtnam’s growing role in the Asia-Pacific region, within ASEAN, and in global supply chains, reiterating Croatia’s support for stronger Việtnam–EU relations, including the effective implementation of the EU–Việtnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the ratification of EVIPA by the remaining EU member states.
The Croatian diplomat further expressed hope that both countries would continue close coordination at multilateral forums to contribute to peace, stability, cooperation, and sustainable development in the region and beyond.
