Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai on Nov. 28 received visiting Ireland Minister of State for Trade and Development Jan O’Sullivan.

Deputy PM Hai spoke highly of Jan O’Sullivan’s visit at a time when relations between the two countries are developing fruitfully.

He thanked the Irish government and people for their official development assistance (ODA) to Vietnam and their aid plan for the next five years, focusing on hunger elimination and poverty reduction.

The Deputy PM suggested the two countries boost cooperation to match both sides’ expectations and conditions.

He expressed his wish to receive support from the Irish government in education and vocational training for rural labourers, in poverty reduction programmes as well as in the free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with the European Union, which, he said, creates a foundation to further enhance relations between the two countries, especially in trade.

Sharing Deputy PM Hai’s views, Minister Jan O’Sullivan said with its experience, Ireland is ready to help Vietnam in education and training through joint projects and encourage Ireland businesses to invest in many fields in the Southeast Asian country.

She highly valued Vietnam’s socio-economic achievements, saying her visit aims to seek opportunities and strengthen trade ties with Vietnam while boosting investment in poverty reduction projects, such as Programme 135 which is being implemented successfully in the country./.