At a Vietnam-Belarus joint venture for auto assembling in Hung Yen province. (Photo: VNA) Minsk (VNA) – Vietnamese Ambassador to Belarus Nguyen Van Ngu has highlighted the achievements and prospects of Vietnam-Belarus relations, and expectations for the upcoming Vietnam visit by Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko from December 6-9.
During an interview recently granted to the Vietnam News Agency in Belarus, the Ambassador said bilateral ties have deep roots dating back to the Soviet era when President Ho Chi Minh visited Belarus in 1957 and 1961, marking significant milestones in the development of the two countries' relations.
During the national construction process, Belarus has also assisted Vietnam in training thousands of students, researchers and workers. At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Belarusian Government and people provided Vietnam with medical equipment. Ambassador Ngu affirmed that the Vietnamese Party, Government and people of Vietnam will never forget that invaluable assistance.
More than three decades since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1992, Vietnam and Belarus have been maintaining and developing their traditional friendly relations and multifaceted cooperation with an increasingly high level of trust, he said.
Regarding bilateral cooperation, the ambassador said Vietnam and Belarus are collaborating in numerous areas, ranging from national defence to economy, trade, culture, education, sci-tech, people-to-people and locality-to-locality exchanges. The two countries have established a solid legal framework to promote cooperation in various fields, with about 50 cooperation agreements, including international treaties and agreements between ministries and agencies. Around 10 Vietnamese provinces have established friendly and cooperative relations with 6 out of 7 provincial-level localities of Belarus.
On the international front, Vietnam and Belarus share fundamentally similar stances and regularly consult each other at various forums and multilateral mechanisms. Vietnam has already implemented a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), of which Belarus is a member. Ngu believed that there remains ample potential for bilateral cooperation, especially in economy, trade and investment.
According to him, the key products of both countries complement each other rather than compete. Vietnam has many products of strength such as rice, coffee, tea, seafood and apparel that are well-known globally. Meanwhile, Belarus has renowned products like potassium fertiliser, agricultural machinery, meat, dairy products, and various high-quality items. There are also many areas in sci-tech cooperation that the two countries could further step up.He revealed that during the upcoming visit by the Belarusian PM, ministries and agencies will finalise the signing of a cooperation agreement in sci-tech. The two countries are actively discussing an agreement that would exempt their citizens from visa requirements.
In conclusion, he wished that following the visit, the two countries’ ministries, agencies, localities and businesses would understand each other better and formulate initiatives and contracts to realise their cooperation potential./.
