Pakistani Deputy Foreign Minister Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry spoke highly of Vietnam’s stable political environment and said there was still a huge potential for both nations to intensify their links, especially in the fields of economics, trade and tourism.

During his meeting with the newly-appointed Vietnamese Ambassador to Pakistan Nguyen Xuan Luu in Islamabad on October 14, Chaudhry vowed that his ministry would provide support and work closely with the diplomat to strengthen the bilateral traditional friendship.

He said he hoped Vietnam-Pakistan relations would be upgraded in the future.

On his part, Luu congratulated Pakistan on 17-year-old Pakistani Malala Yousafzai winning the Nobel Peace Prize, the youngest awardee in 113 years. He said this proved that Pakistan was a peace-loving country.

The Vietnamese diplomat underlined the need to enhance political, economic and trade ties between the two countries in the future through high-ranking delegation exchanges and political consultations in the Joint Vietnam-Pakistan Committee.

He also discussed with his host how to improve their comprehensive bilateral relations in the future.

Economic cooperation in recent years developed substantially, with two-way trade increasing to 390 million USD in 2013 from 149 million USD in 2009.

The two sides also agreed to continue to support each other at regional and global forums.-VNA