Estonia's Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna met Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung on Wednesday, seeking to deepen bilateral cooperation in trade, technology and digital transformation. The two countries signed agreements on digital cooperation in 2025, building on growing ties in recent years.
Estonia, which accounts for just 0.2 per cent of the EU's GDP, is renowned for its digital expertise and e-governance innovation. Tsahkna offered this know-how to Vietnam as the Southeast Asian export powerhouse pursues reforms aimed at becoming a high-income economy by 2045. He said digitalisation of public services could reduce bureaucracy, improve transparency and lower costs.
Prime Minister Hung asked Estonia to urge the EU to ratify an Investment Protection Agreement and support efforts to remove the European Commission's “yellow card” restricting Vietnamese seafood imports over illegal fishing, state media reported.
Tsahkna said Estonia could serve as a gateway for Vietnamese businesses to Europe, while Vietnam offers a larger market and a foothold in Southeast Asia. He described Vietnam as a priority country in the region, and also used the visit to convey Europe's view of Russia as an “existential threat”.
Vietnam has historically close ties with Russia and maintains a neutral stance on the war in Ukraine, advocating peace without direct criticism of Moscow. Tsahkna noted that Estonia's outreach to Southeast Asia is driven by geopolitical pressures and economic opportunities, particularly as US tariff tensions and criticism of European defence spending compel Europe to look outward.
