Vietnam wishes to boost cooperation with Israel, particularly in biotechnology for agriculture, said Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

PM Dung expressed this desire while receiving outgoing Israeli Ambassador, Ephraim Ben Matityau, in Hanoi on July 7.

PM Dung shared his pleasure at the development of relations between the two countries, which brought benefits to both sides, and thanked Israel for helping train Vietnamese students in agriculture.

He appreciated the Israeli Ambassador’s contributions to boosting bilateral cooperation, especially in trade, investment and education.

For his part, Ambassador Ephraim Ben Matityau stated that in any future positions he might assume, he would actively contribute to boosting Israel-Vietnam relations.

He said that Vietnam opening its Embassy in Israel, with the Vietnamese Ambassador to the country scheduled to present credentials to the Israeli President on July 8, constitutes a new milestone in relations between the two countries.

Each year Israel helps train over 200 students in agriculture for Vietnam.

Two-way trade turnover was valued at 200 million USD in 2008 and many Israeli businesses have effectively invested in Vietnam, particularly in shipbuilding./.