Prime Minister Phuc made the statement at a meeting with Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Radek Vondracek in Prague on Wednesday. 
Mr. Phuc asked the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic to accelerate the EU’s signing and ratification of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA). He called for more experience sharing in legislative affairs and more collaboration in education, training, science, technology, the environment, agriculture, and labour.
Mr. Vondracek said the Chamber of Deputies values the Czech Republic-Vietnam traditional friendship, and fully supports signing and ratification of the EVFTA and the EVIPA. He expressed his confidence that opening a direct air route between Prague and Hanoi will boost trade, investment and tourism, and promised to protect the interests of the 65,000 Vietnamese living in the Czech Republic. 

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc meets with the Speaker of the Czech Chamber of Deputies Radek Vondracek on April, 17, 2019 (Photo: Chinhphu.vn)

The same day, meeting with Chairman of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia, Vojtech Filip, Mr. Phuc said the Vietnamese people remember and appreciate Czech support during their struggle for independence and national construction. He praised the Czech Republic for recognizing the local Vietnamese community as an ethnic minority group, and said he believes the Czech Republic will create favorable conditions for Vietnamese living and working there. Prime Minister Phuc asked Chairman Filip to support the EVFTA and the EVIPA, and the Party Chairman said as Vice Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies he will continue to foster the partnership between their two parliaments and countries. 

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc meets with Vojtech Filip, Chairman of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia and Vice Speaker of the Czech Chamber of Deputies on April, 17, 2019 (Photo: Thong Nhat/ VNA)

Earlier at a meeting with President of the Czech Republic Milos Zeman, PM Phuc said that Vietnam treasures its friendship and multifaceted cooperation with friends in Central Europe, and considers the Czech Republic a top priority. PM Phuc repeated his request for EVFTA and EVIPA support. President Zeman assured PM Phuc that the bilateral relationship will continue to prosper. 

Meeting with the Vietnamese expats at the Sapa Trade Center in Prague, Mr. Phuc said the Vietnamese Party and State consider overseas Vietnamese an indispensable part of the Vietnamese nation, and will create favorable conditions for them to invest in their homeland.
PM Phuc and his entourage left Prague to return to Vietnam on Wednesday night.