Vietnamese Ambassador to Argentina and Uruguay Duong Quoc Thanh (Photo: VNA) Buenos Aires (VNA) – National Assembly (NA)Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue’s visits to Argentina and Uruguay are expected to createnew motivation for the growth of ties between Vietnam and the two LatinAmerican countries, stated Vietnamese Ambassador to Argentina and Uruguay DuongQuoc Thanh.
In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency, AmbassadorThanh said that the visits, spanning from April 23-28, are the most importanthighlights of the activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary ofdiplomatic relations with Argentina and 30-year ties with Uruguay.
These are the first by a high-ranking leader of Vietnam to Argentinasince 2010 and also the first to Uruguay since the two countries set up theirdiplomatic relations, he said.
According to the diplomat, Argentina is one of the firstthree Latin American countries to set up diplomatic relations with Vietnam,after Cuba and Chile, before Vietnam’s reunification in 1975.
In the late 90s of the last century, the two countriesopened embassies in each other's capitals and bilateral relations developedincreasingly and comprehensively in the fields of politics, economy, cultureand people-to-people exchange.
In 2010, the two sides lifted their relations to acomprehensive partnership, paving the way for the breakthrough growth in theirtrade ties with two-way trade surging to 4.8 billion USD in 2022 from only 918million USD in 2010, making Vietnam the fourth largest trade partner ofArgentina in Asia and turning Argentina into the third most important trade partnerof Vietnam in the Latin American region.
In the overall bilateral relations, parliamentary diplomacy playsan outstanding role with a high-level visit of NA Chairman Nguyen Van An in2006 and those by NA Vice Chairmen Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and Do Ba Ty in 2014 and2018, respectively. The visits contributed to strengthening mutualunderstanding between leaders and peoples of the two sides, enabling the twocountries to share experience on the role of the parliament in law-building andsupervision activities, helping create a favourable legal corridor for thebilateral economic relations.
Amid the unexpectedly changing international situation, the relationship betweenVietnam and Argentina is considered a model for the South-South partnership andboasts great development potential.
NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue leaves Noi Bai International Airport for official visits to Cuba, Argentina and Uruguay (Photo: VNA) The strengths of the two countries can supplement each other,especially in agriculture, mining, science and technology. The ongoing visit byNA Chairman Hue, who is being accompanied with leaders of many ministries,sectors and localities, is believed to create momentum for the two countries tomake better use of their potential, making their relationship more substantiveand effective for the benefit of the two peoples, for peace and stability in eachregion as well as in the world.
Meanwhile, Uruguay, despite its small population of only over3 million, is the Latin American country with highest per-capita income andthe leading in trade liberalisation among Southern Common Market (Mercosur)members. Vietnam and Uruguay have shared many common economic interest and showedmutual support at international forums.
The Vietnamese top legislator’s visit aims to not onlypromote the partnership between the two countries in general and the two legislaturesin particular, but also to strengthen bilateral parliamentary diplomacy with talks with Mercosur Parliament President and Vice Presidents representing membercountries.
The Uruguay side shows the special respect to NA Chairman Hue,as the Montevideo City Council will award the title of Honourary Citizen of thecity to the Vietnamese top legislator. Alongside, Uruguay has also repeatedlyexpressed its interest to strengthen relations with localities of Vietnam.
Ambassador Thanh said that Vietnam and Argentina and Uruguayshared the interest to strengthen their comprehensive cooperation to match eachother’s potential.
Due to lack of information of each other and mutualunderstanding, cooperation opportunities and potential between Vietnam and the twoLatin American countries have yet to be fully tapped. NA Chairman Hue’s visitis considered an important stepping stone for Vietnam to get closer toArgentina and Uruguay in particular and Latin American countries in general,thus effectively implementing Vietnam’s policy of diversifying andmultilateralising economic and trade relations, enhancing the country’sposition in the global supply and production chains, he said.
The visits also meet the aspirations of the two LatinAmerican countries in bolstering economic relations with Asia, for which Vietnamis willing to act as a bridge, stated the diplomat./.
