Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung left Mendoza on the afternoon of April 17 local time to wrap up his official visit to Argentina made at the invitation of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.

Before leaving the Latin American country, PM Dung and his delegation met with the acting Mayor of Mendoza, Cristian Racondo, who expressed wishes to boost his state’s cooperation in energy and agriculture with Vietnamese localities.

At the meeting, the Vietnamese PM affirmed that Vietnam is eager for promoting the friendship and multi-faceted cooperation with Latin American countries and that the Vietnamese government welcomes and will facilitate long term business by investors from Argentina .

Visiting IMPSA, which headquarters in Mendoza, PM Dung praised the group’s cooperation with the PetroVietnam and the PV Power Corporation in developing windmills in Vietnam , describing this as an encouraging move to protect the environment and develop sustainably.

Emphasising that Vietnam boasts coastal areas and islands with a high potential for wind power, he expressed hope that cooperation between IMPSA and PetroVietnam will be successful, setting an example for the two countries’ cooperation.

IMPSA will partner with the PV Power in wind and hydro-power projects in Vietnam with an estimated investment of 3.2 billion USD.

At the end of the visit, Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh talked with the press on the trip’s outcomes, affirming that “the visit created a new milestone in the Vietnam-Argentina relationship and a new impulse for the two countries to step up ties to tap their strength and meet their demands.”

The trip was successful with both sides showing determination and reaching high consensus on orientations and measures to further enhance their cooperation in all fields, which have been clearly stated in the Joint Statement issued by the Vietnamese PM and the Argentinean President and a series of documents signed during the occasion, Minh said.

He affirmed that both sides agreed to maintain high-level contacts and that the Argentinean President will arrange a visit to Vietnam in November.

The visit marked a success in bilateral trade ties, with the Argentinean and Vietnamese businesspeople agreeing to further ties and cooperation and the Argentinean Government recognising Vietnam ’s market economy, Minh said.

He revealed that during open and friendly talks with PM Dung, leading Argentinean businesses gave high evaluation of Vietnam ’s potential and demonstrated their interest and eagerness to invest and set up shop in Vietnam .

The two sides shared views on many international issues, highlighting the importance of their cooperation in international organisations and multilateral forums, Deputy FM Minh said.

He referred to PM Dung’s chair of the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a foundation bearing the statue of President Ho Chi Minh at the Vietnam Park in Buenos Aires as one of prominent events of the visit, constituting profound sentiments of the Argentinean leaders and people toward President Ho Chi Minh and the Vietnamese people.

During the visit, Minh noted, PM Dung and senior Argentinean officials agreed to boost activities and ties between legislative organs, socio-political organisations, and localities and cultural and sport activities during the important celebrations in the two countries this year.

Despite geographical distance, Vietnam and Argentina are enjoying fine traditional ties with similarities and distinctive strength that enable them to assist one another in many fields, the Deputy FM said.

Reaping two-way trade of nearly 640 million USD in 2009, which represented a four-fold rise over that of 2004, the two countries have expanded economic cooperation to other domains, especially in agriculture, oil and gas industry and wind electricity, making it an important foundation for them to look forward to a bright prospect in the future, according to Minh.

In the coming time, both countries need to deploy actively and effectively the signed cooperation documents and at the same time hold negotiations on new agreements and accords so as to increasingly perfect a legal framework for bilateral cooperative activities, the Deputy FM underscored.

To boost bilateral cooperation, Minh noted that the two countries should encourage and provide favourable conditions for businesspeople and investors to facilitate their direct partnership and better access to business opportunities in the two countries’ markets, and promote and diversify their trade ties./.