Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio de Aguiar Patriota said his country wants to foster the friendship and cooperation with Vietnam in the framework of a “comprehensive partnership”.

In his meeting with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in Hanoi on July 6, Minister Patriota conveyed a message from President Dilma Vana Rousseff that he holds high esteem of Vietnam as an important member of ASEAN, a dynamic economy, a market of great potential and a close friend of Brazil .

The minister said the two sides can boost bilateral ties in such areas as energy, bio-fuel, science-technology, culture and sports.

Brazil will closely cooperate with Vietnam at international organisations and multilateral forums, he said, adding that his country takes interest in the situation in Southeast Asia as well as peace, stability and security in the East Sea .

PM Dung affirmed that Vietnam attaches importance to developing the friendship and cooperation with Brazil .

He suggested the two Governments strengthen cooperation in the fields of politics-diplomacy, economics-trade, culture, education, sustainable development and poverty reduction.

The two sides should speed up the signing of agreements to create a favourable legal framework for their comprehensive ties, he said.

However, he noted that bilateral economic-trade relations, despite a remarkable growth rate recently, are yet to match both countries’ potentials.

Therefore, the two Governments should coordinate and support their ministries, agencies, localities and businesses to strengthen direct partnerships, he said.

On the same day, the Brazilian FM held talks with his Vietnamese counterpart, Pham Binh Minh, on issues relating to bilateral ties and regional and international issues of common concern.

The two FMs agreed to increase the exchange of delegations at all levels as well as maintain regular activities of the Inter-Governmental Joint Committee and the political consultation mechanism between the two Foreign Ministries.

They also agreed to work for the early signing of agreements on technical, educational and agricultural cooperation.

The two sides pledged to strengthen cooperation in the framework of South-South and tri-party cooperation.

Minister Patriota congratulated Vietnam on the successful organisation of the first-ever Vietnam-Latin America Trade and Investment Forum on July 5-6.-VNA