On April 23, at the Presidential Palace of the Republic of Slovenia, Vietnamese Ambassador to the Republic of Slovenia Vu Le Thai Hoang presented his credentials to Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar, officially beginning his term in Slovenia.

The courtesy meeting and discussions with the Slovenian President took place in a warm and respectful atmosphere, showing the goodwill and determination to further deepen the substantive bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

During the cordial reception following the presentation ceremony, Ambassador Vu Le Thai Hoang conveyed greetings from General Secretary To Lam, President Luong Cuong, and other senior Vietnamese leaders to President Natasa Pirc Musar.

The Ambassador expressed his honor to take up his post in Slovenia on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Slovenia (1994–2024), and briefed the President on the positive and effective developments in the traditional friendship and cooperation between the two countries across political-diplomatic and economic-trade spheres.

On this occasion, the Vietnamese diplomat provided updates on Vietnam’s socio-economic development and reaffirmed the country’s determination to enter a new era of growth toward prosperity and strength. He emphasized that both Vietnam and Slovenia are transforming economies striving for higher development levels, noting that Slovenia serves as a successful model in overcoming the middle-income trap and building a development-oriented economy driven by science, technology, and innovation.

In this context, Hoang proposed strengthening cooperation in areas where Slovenia has strengths and Vietnam has demand, such as science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, green transition, sustainable development, smart cities, smart agriculture, climate change response, labor cooperation, and vocational training.

He affirmed that Vietnam attaches great importance to and wishes to further expand its friendship and comprehensive cooperation with Slovenia, and expressed hope that Slovenian businesses will increase trade and investment in Vietnam in areas of mutual interest. The Ambassador also called on Slovenia to accelerate the ratification of the EU–Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and support the removal of the IUU "yellow card" on Vietnam’s seafood exports.

He said he hope that President Musar and the Slovenian Government will continue to support the Vietnamese community in Slovenia, enabling them to integrate well and contribute as a bridge enhancing people-to-people ties.

President Natasa Pirc Musar conveyed appreciation for the greetings from Vietnam’s top leaders and applauded the dynamic growth of Vietnam’s economy in a region full of potential and emerging opportunities. She expressed her hope that both countries will identify concrete goals to bolster practical cooperation, particularly in the context of global challenges such as conflict, economic instability, and rising protectionism.

The President also hailed the positive development of the traditional friendship and cooperation between the two nations, especially their mutual support at international forums, and shared commitment to multilateralism and international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

President Musar affirmed that the Slovenian Government attaches great importance to strengthening the friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Vietnam, agreeing that the two countries still hold significant potential for cooperation in high technology, industry, digital transformation, green growth, logistics, and labor.

Vietnam, Slovenia have great potential to strengthen cooperation: Ambassador

Vietnam and Slovenia have a lot of potential to strengthen cooperation for mutual development, and for peace, security and stability in the two countries as well as in the region and the world at large, said Vietnamese Ambassador to Austria and Slovenia Nguyen Trung Kien.