Vietnam is an important partner of the Czech Republic and a potential market in Southeast Asia.

This is the sharing of H. E. Hynek Kmoníček, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Vietnam at the “Partnering  for the future of Czech – Vietnam” event held by the Embassy of the Czech Republic on December 18 in Hanoi to commemorate the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

As one of the countries that established diplomatic relations with Vietnam early, the Czech Republic plays a major role in promoting deep diplomatic and economic integration with Vietnam.

Over the past more than seven decades, Vietnam and the Czech Republic have established a solid foundation for relations based on the spirit of respect and friendly cooperation in many fields.

Ambassador Kmoníček said that Vietnamese people living and working in the Czech Republic are the fourth largest community with about 300,000 people. "To date, the business activities of the Vietnamese community in the Central European country have reached $3 billion," he added. "The 75th anniversary of the diplomatic relations will be an opportunity for the two countries to continue expanding bilateral economic and trade cooperation and attract investment from the Czech Republic to Vietnam."

The occasion also marked a milestone in strengthening Czech-Vietnam relations with the announcement of strategic investment plans for Vietnam of the Sev.en Global Investments (Sev.en GI), a prominent global investor based in the Czech Republic.

Sev.en GI has established a robust presence in Europe, North America, and Australia. Now, the group seeks to expand its footprint into Asia, with Vietnam identified as a key market, due to strong economic ties between the two nations.

"The company is committed to contributing to Vietnam's economic development, particularly in the energy sector, through significant and long-term investments," said Mr. Gabriel Staněk, Country Manager for Vietnam, Sev.en Global Investments. “In the near future, we would like to launch the largest investment from the Czech Republic to Vietnam and the largest energy-sector investments from Europe. We are an experienced and responsible power generation operator providing energy reliability and security in local areas."

Colonel Nguyen Thi Thuy Thanh, Deputy Director of the Department of Party and Political Affairs at the Ministry of Public Security, said that the event is a testament to the diplomatic activities that work together to promote future growth opportunities, shaping a brighter future for both countries. "In the future, we hope to strengthen the traditional friendship between Vietnam and the Czech Republic in all areas from politics, diplomacy, sports, tourism and exchanges so that the people of the two countries can better understand each other's country, people, culture and further strengthen the friendship between the two countries," she added.

Sharing with VET, Ambassador Kmoníček believes Vietnam is a gateway to the economies of ASEAN. "We have a very special 75 years old relation with Vietnam, and we have a lot of people speaking both Vietnam and Czech, and we know each other quite well," the ambassador said. "So it all works for our partnership. The fact that if Czech businesspeople  start thinking that should they invest into ASEAN?, their first choice will be Vietnam, because that is the only country where we have been to and it will be supported by both Governments."