President Truong Tan Sang received the Belarusian Chairman of the State Security Committee Valery Vakulchik at the Presidential Palace on September 24.

During the meeting, Vakulchik expressed his gratitude to President Truong Tan Sang for receiving him and expressed his delight at the development of the traditional ties between Belarus and Vietnam.

The Belarusian Chairman of the State Security Committee also conveyed greetings from Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to President Truong Tan Sang.

On this occasion, President Truong Tan Sang thanked Belarus for the financial, technological and educational assistance it provided to the people of Vietnam during its national struggle for liberation. President Truong Tan Sang asked the Belarusian Chairman of the State Security Committee to extend his invitation to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to visit Vietnam.

President Truong Tan Sang noted that in addition to the cooperation on politics and security, Vietnam and Belarus needed to maintain their traditional educational cooperation, and expand cooperation on trade, the economy and telecommunications. He said Vietnam had a great advantage in producing consumer goods, while Belarus was strong in the fields of heavy industry and energy. The two countries could complement each other, the Vietnamese State President suggested.

President Truong Tan Sang expressed his hope that the negotiation process on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and the Customs Union of Russia-Kazakhstan-Belarus would conclude in the near future.

Regarding Vietnamese-Belarusian relations, President Truong Tan Sang affirmed that Vietnam continuously attached importance to enhancing its traditional ties with Belarus, valuing the sentiments of friendship that Belarusian leaders and the people of Belarus extended to Vietnam. President Truong Tan Sang proposed the two countries continue to maintain high-level delegation visits and expand their cooperation in line with the two nations’ wishes and strengths.-VNA