Romanian PM pays first visit to Vietnam in 21 years

Ciolos made the remark at a joint press briefing with his Vietnamese counterpart, Nguyen Phuc in Hanoi.

He said the two leaders discussed cooperation in potential areas of energy, trade, agriculture and infrastructure.

The visiting Romanian PM said as his country was an active member of the EU while Vietnam was a founding member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and that the two countries could take roles as bridgehead to connect the two regions.

Announcing that his government intended to double the number of scholarships granted for Vietnamese youth to study in Romania, the Romanian PM added that over 3,500 Vietnamese people had studied in Romania.

He elaborated also on regional cooperation between Vietnam's southern Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre and Romania's Danube Delta County of Tulcea.

The Romania PM added that the ties held potentials in bilateral and inter-regional cooperation between the Europe and the Southeast Asia.

"The two countries will boost cooperation in international and regional organisations including the UN and International Organisation of La Francophonie among others,’’ the Romanian guest said.

Vietnamese PM Nguyen Phuc, for his part, said that in spite of positive developments over the years, the bilateral ties between Vietnam and Romania remained modest compared to the two sides' potentials.

Phuc urged the two countries to boost cooperation in areas with strengths such as electricity, railway, agriculture, shipbuilding, and labour.