President Tran Dai Quang (left) and his Ethiopian counterpart Mulatu Teshome. (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – President Tran Dai Quang’s state visits to Ethiopia and Egypt from August 23-28 have created new momentum for bilateral relations between Vietnam and the two countries, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Vu Hong Nam has said.
He made the statement to the press following the leader’s visits, highlighting the trips’ success as creating a historical milestone for bilateral ties.
Vietnam and Ethiopia agreed to step up the exchange of delegations, especially at a high level, in order to push the impetus for bilateral relations, while also intensifying their coordination at multilateral forums, particularly within the framework of the United Nations (UN).
Ethiopia also committed to sharing its experience with Vietnam in UN peacekeeping operations, Nam said.
Meanwhile, President Quang’s visit to Egypt from August 25-28 demonstrated Vietnam’s wish to promote its relationship with the country in a practical and effective manner.
President Tran Dai Quang (second, left) and his spouse were welcomed by Egyptian Abdel Fattah Al Sisi and his spouse. (Source: VNA) The two sides agreed to further enhance their ties; increase all-level delegation exchanges via Party, Government, and National Assembly channels and people-to-people diplomacy; and support each other at multilateral forums such as the UN, South-South cooperation, and the Francophone community.
Nam stressed that the main purpose of President Quang’s visits was to forge economic, trade, and investment cooperation with Ethiopia and Egypt.
As such, the President held in-depth discussions with Ethiopian and Egyptian leaders on concrete measures to turn their potential into specific results, including creating favourable conditions for businesses to cooperate and penetrate the respective markets.
Vietnam offered to help Ethiopia and Egypt access ASEAN markets while, on the other hand, Vietnamese enterprises would further their reach to African and Arab markets through the two countries, Nam added.
The leaders also talked about measures to reinforce collaboration in other fields like agriculture, telecommunications and information-technology, culture, tourism, fishery, transportation, and education-training.
During the visits, Vietnam signed several cooperation documents with the two countries, covering trade, agriculture, finance, oil, training, and cooperation between localities.
At the end of the visits, Vietnam and the two countries issued joint statements chalking up major orientations to boost bilateral ties in the future, the Deputy Minister said.
On this occasion, President Quang visited the headquarters of the African Union (AU) in the Ethiopian capital city of Adis Abiba and had a meeting with AU Acting President Amira Elfadil Mohammed Elfadil to discuss cooperation orientations between Vietnam and the union, as well as its members in various spheres – economy, trade, and investment in particular.
The establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) and the determination of AU member countries to step up reforms could create many opportunities for Vietnamese businesses if they know how to utilise them, Nam said.
He noted that President Quang and the AU Acting President concurred to soon establish a suitable dialogue mechanism to promote comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and the union, as well as closely coordinate with each other at multilateral forums, for the sake of developing nations. –VNA
VNA
