HCMC – Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico have agreed to elevate bilateral relations to a strategic partnership.
During talks held in Hanoi on April 13, as part of Fico’s official visit to Vietnam from April 12 to 14, the two leaders tasked their foreign ministries with swiftly developing an action plan to implement the new strategic partnership framework.
At the meeting, the two prime ministers also witnessed the signing and exchange of 16 cooperation agreements on key sectors such as defense industry, nuclear energy, standards and metrology, and healthcare.
A highlight of the visit is the participation of a Slovak business delegation at the Vietnam–Slovakia Business Forum. Both governments pledged to make conditions favorable for firms from the two countries to do business.
Slovakia expressed readiness to share expertise and technology in priority areas such as nuclear power development, finance, and education and training, aiming to tap into the potential of Vietnam which is currently the European country’s largest trading partner in Southeast Asia.
Beyond industrial cooperation, tourism and people-to-people exchanges are expected to gain momentum. Prime Minister Fico noted that Slovak citizens have shown strong interest in Vietnamese destinations and thanked the Vietnamese Government for its visa exemption policy for Slovak nationals. To further boost connectivity and trade, both sides expressed their desire to establish direct flights between the two countries soon.
Economic and trade cooperation between the two countries has maintained steady growth. Bilateral trade reached US$1.73 billion in 2024 and rose to US$1.78 billion in 2025.
Slovakia ratified the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement in February 2023. As of December 2025, Slovakia had 16 valid foreign direct investment projects in Vietnam with total registered capital of US$140.87 million, ranking 47th among 153 countries and territories investing in the country.
Meanwhile, Vietnam has one investment project in Slovakia with total capital of US$447,000, ranking 74th out of 85 countries and territories receiving Vietnamese investment.
