Vietnam and Saudi Arabia should further strengthen multifaceted cooperation on the basis of each country’s potential to make the wishes of the two countries’ leaders come true.

State President Nguyen Minh Triet made the statement while receiving Industry and Trade Minister Abdullah Bin Ahmed Zainal Ali Radha and Agriculture Minister Fahad Bin Abdul Rahman Balganim of Saudi Arabia in Hanoi on March 24.

The State President said the two countries’ ministries and branches need to seek specific, new cooperative areas to boost bilateral trade.

He also affirmed that Vietnam , thanks to its advantages in agriculture, is willing to help Saudi Arabia ensure food security, adding he hoped that the Middle East country will assist Vietnam in ensuring energy security, since it has the world’s largest oil and fuel reserves.

President Triet asked the two countries to study possibilities for setting up partnerships in energy and food, expanding labour cooperation and establishing information supply channels for businesses.

The visiting ministers said their visit was aimed at deploying the initiative of their King and implementing the agreements already signed between the two countries, especially in agriculture, trade and industry.

They affirmed that agriculture plays an important part in Saudi Arabia ’s economy, and as a result, they wished to conduct agricultural projects in Vietnam in the earliest time frame possible.

The Middle East country was willing to build long-term strategic relations with Vietnam in energy, expand labour cooperation and expected that more Saudi Arabian businesses would invest in Vietnam, the two ministers said./.