Vietnam gets to work with Ireland and Mongolia

Party General Secretary and State President To Lam held talks with Irish President Michael Higgins, photo VNA

During Party General Secretary and President To Lam’s state visit to Ireland last week, the two countries saw the establishment of a strategic partnership on higher education between the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training and the Irish Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, as well as the signing of an MoU between the Vietnam National University in Hanoi and leading universities of Ireland.

The Vietnamese leader and Irish President Michael Higgins agreed that this is a priority sector of cooperation between the two countries, helping to improve the quality of training, develop high-quality human resources, and promote scientific research and innovation in Vietnam.

According to Irish Ambassador to Vietnam Deirdre Ní Fhallúin, Ireland is now termed “the Silicon Valley of Europe”, recognised globally as a centre for pharmaceuticals, technology, and high-quality education. Ireland is also home to the European headquarters of big tech companies such as Meta and Google.

“From our own development journey, we know how important education is for a country’s development. We have supported Vietnamese students to undertake fully funded Master’s degrees in Ireland under our scholarship scheme, the Ireland Fellows Programme,” she said. “These students return to Vietnam with high-quality education and experience, and hopefully a lifelong connection to Ireland.”

President Higgins Vietnam’s proposal to accelerate the ratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement to expand cooperation opportunities between the Vietnamese and Irish business communities. He also wished that Vietnam will facilitate Ireland’s export of high-quality agricultural products and food products.

Two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and Ireland has grown positively (see table), hitting $3.5 billion last year and expected by both leaders last week to hit $5 billion in 2026.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, cumulatively as of August, Vietnam had just over 40 Irish projects registered at $61 million, found in the sectors of construction, manufacturing and processing, wholesale and retail, and vehicle and motorbike repair.

Some typical projects include a $37.5 million scheme for infrastructure investment and business of an industrial cluster worth in Soc Trang; a $15 million Fruit of the Loom Vietnam initiative in Thanh Hoa province; and a $2 million project from Apple Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City.

Meanwhile, Vietnam and Mongolia last week released a joint statement on the establishment of a comprehensive partnership during a state visit by Party General Secretary, President To Lam. To materialise this new cooperation framework, both nations agreed to further swell economic, trade, and investment cooperation, with a focus laid on agriculture and transportation. Last week saw Vietnam and Mongolia clinch seven cooperation agreements across law, cybersecurity and anti-crime, transportation, tourism, science, and education and training. The two nations reached consensus on studying solutions to improve their respective investment climates, and considering the inking of a new agreement on reciprocal investment encouragement and protection.

They will also boost substantial ties in agriculture, science, culture, sports, tourism, education, labour, the environment, and social protection.

“Leaders of both sides have agreed to boost the modernisation of the agricultural cooperation programme within the MoU on agricultural cooperation inked in 2022,” read the joint statement.

The two sides have also agreed to raise the exchange of policies, orientations, and solutions for developing agriculture of both sides; create a legal environment for the export of agricultural products of their strengths; and support research and application of high technology in the sector.

The two countries have, moreover, emphasised the need to strengthen coordination to remove difficulties in logistics transportation and effectively carry out signed agreements in road, rail, sea transport, and aviation.

“Mongolia supports Vietnam’s participation in the international road transport agreement between Russia, Mongolia, and China, signed in 2016,” said the joint statement. “The two sides have agreed to strengthen cooperation between airlines of the two countries, and agreed to continue studying the establishment of a mechanism for transporting goods between the countries of Vietnam, China, and Mongolia.”

Both nations inked a trade deal in 1996, after which total bilateral trade hit $6 million in 2008, and soared to over $120 million last year.

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