 Poland’s President Andrzej Duda |
Poland’s GDP ranks 20th in the world. It’s the 6th largest economy in the European Union. Since diplomatic ties were established in 1950, Vietnam and Poland have developed a friendly relationship and multi-faceted cooperation.
Friendly relationship in all sectors
Both countries have regularly exchanged high-level delegations. Poland is Vietnam’s biggest partner in Eastern Europe and Vietnam is Poland’s 7th biggest partner outside the EU. Vietnam exports to Poland garments, textiles, seafood, rice, coffee, confectionaries, agricultural products, electronic devices, and mobile phones and imports powdered milk, medicines, fruits, and equipment for the mining and shipbuilding sector. Trade revenue in 2016 was 790 million USD.
Poland’s investment in Vietnam has doubled over the past 3 years, mainly in real estate, processing, and services. As of October 2017, Poland had 14 investment projects in Vietnam, with a total capital of 182 million USD.
From 1960 to 1990, Poland trained more than 4,000 Vietnamese students and scientists and 3,500 skilled workers for the coal and shipbuilding sectors. Each year Poland offers 10 scholarships for tertiary and post-graduate study, while Vietnam receives 10 Polish students for internships. The two countries have agreed on a New Education Agreement, to be signed during President Duda’s visit to Vietnam, which will increase the scholarships to 20.
Vietnam and Poland signed an MoU on defense in 2010. Poland sent a defense attaché to Vietnam in 2010, and Vietnam has had a defense attaché in Poland since 2014.
Currently about 40,000 Vietnamese are living in Poland, contributing to bilateral economic and trade ties. Some Vietnamese-Polish businesspeople have returned to Vietnam to gain successes in real estate and finance. The number of Polish people in Vietnam has increased, mainly in Ho Chi Minh City. They work in international companies and some have married Vietnamese spouses.
The visit creates new dynamism
The Vietnam visit of President Andrzej Duda has affirmed Poland’s policy of respecting and ingstrengthen multi-faceted relations with Vietnam, particularly in education, finance, communications, environment, natural resources, and agriculture. During the visit, their businesses have had opportunities to seek partnerships and exchange information.
Anh Huyen