An inter-ministerial mission headed by Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc paid a visit to Luxembourg from Feb. 13-15 to attend the Vietnam-Luxembourg Partnership Committee.

During the visit, Minister Phuc had a working session with the General Director of the Luxembourg development aid agency and paid a courtesy visit to Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker.

Meeting with the Luxembourg PM on Feb. 15, Minister Phuc expressed thanks to the Luxembourg government for its support to Vietnam over the past time.

PM Juncker praised cooperation between the two countries in all fields and expressed his hope that those ties would be further developed.

Earlier, at the meeting of the Vietnam-Luxembourg Partnership Committee, Minister Phuc and Marie Josee Jacobs, Luxembourg Minister of Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs reviewed Luxembourg-funded projects in Vietnam and the cooperation strategy between the two countries for the 2011-2015 period.

The two ministers shared the same views that Luxembourg-funded projects in Vietnam effectively helped agricultural and rural development, healthcare, personnel training and poverty reduction, which are prioritised areas of the Vietnamese government.

In the 2011-2015 period, the Luxembourg government pledged to provide 42 million EUR as non-refundable aid to Vietnam to carry out projects prioritised by the Vietnamese government.

While in Luxembourg , Minister Phuc also visited Astra company, a centre involving in global services in satellite management of Luxembourg , where he was briefed about Astra cooperation programes with Vietnam in launching and managing Vinasat telecom satellites of Vietnam .

Talking with Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reporter, Minister Phuc spoke highly of cooperation prospect in all fields between Vietnam and Luxembourg, especially in finance and banking, which is a strength of Luxembourg./.