Deputy PM: Vietnam wants to enhance cooperation with Brazil

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam highly evaluated Brazil’s growing position in the international arena and wants to enhance its comprehensive cooperation with the South American country, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh has said.

During his talks with Brazilian Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes Ferreira in Hanoi on September 11, Minh applauded the guest’s official visit to Vietnam, which takes place at a time when the two nations are celebrating the 10th founding anniversary of comprehensive partnership.

While expressing his admiration for Vietnam’s great and comprehensive achievements over the past three decades of reform, Ferreira affirmed that Brazil has advocated a foreign policy of diversification of relations, in which Brazil has considered Vietnam a leading partner in the Asia-Pacific region.

Both ministers held that Vietnam-Brazil cooperative ties have been developing positively in all spheres, including politics with regular visits and meetings by senior leaders, ministries and sectors.

Two-way trade has increased by three times since 2010 to 3.1 billion USD in 2016 and reached 1.9 billion USD in the first seven months of 2017, up 9 percent over the same period last year.

Vietnam and Brazil have also maintained close cooperation at international organisations and multilateral forums, especially in the United Nations and the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

The ministers affirmed that the two countries still hold a lot of potentials for stronger cooperation, particularly in the fields of agricultural and aquatic product production and processing, manufacturing, bioenergetics, infrastructure construction, aviation and transport.

For the time ahead, the ministers agreed to increase the exchange of visits by senior leaders, ministries and sectors and support relations through Party, parliament and locality channels.

On this occasion, Minh asked Ferreira to convey President Tran Dai Quang’s greetings and invitation to Brazilian President Michel Temer to officially visit Vietnam. Meanwhile, Ferreira also handed over President Temer’s letter of invitation to President Quang to pay an official visit to Brazil in 2018 in order to strengthen the bilateral comprehensive partnership.

The ministers consented to effectively uphold the mechanism of the Inter-governmental Committee for Economic-Commercial and Scientific-Technological Cooperation and to hold its third meeting in the first half of 2018.

They concurred to regularly maintain the political consultation at the foreign deputy minister level and speed up negotiations towards the signing of a frame agreement on technical cooperation, an agreement on investment support and cooperation, and a government-level memorandum of understanding on educational cooperation, among others.

The two sides also agreed to make greater efforts to raise the bilateral trade value to 10 billion USD in the next few years and further promote cooperation in the areas of culture, training, tourism and sports through concrete programmes and projects.

The two sides promised to cooperate closely and support each other at international organisations and multilateral forums, and foster cooperative ties between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR).

Minh took this occasion to thank the Brazilian Government for backing Vietnam’s candidacy for a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council in the 2020-2021 term and urged Brazil to soon recognise Vietnam’s market economy status as well as its candidacy in other international organisations.

The ministers also exchanged in-depth discussions and viewpoints on regional and international issues of mutual concern. Regarding the East Sea issue, the ministers supported the settlement of sovereignty disputes through peaceful measures, on the basis of full respect for the diplomatic and legal process and in accordance with international law, including the  United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS).

Minister Ferreira invited Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Minh to officially visit Brazil at a convenient time.

Earlier the same day, under the witness of Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes Ferreira and Minister of Transport Truong Quang Nghia signed an agreement on maritime shipping cooperation between the two governments.-VNA