State leader welcomes newly-accredited ambassadors of Belarus, Egypt

Hanoi (VNA) – President Nguyen Xuan Phuc expressed his hope that Vietnam’s partnerships with Belarus and Egypt will grow while receiving the countries’ new ambassadors who came to present their credentials on April 13.

Welcoming Belarusian Ambassador Vladimir Baravikov, the State leader affirmed Vietnam always attaches importance to traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Belarus. He said he believes the diplomat will make considerable contributions to bilateral ties.

Baravikov pledged his utmost efforts to help develop the two countries’ cooperation in a comprehensive manner, adding that a senior leader of Belarus will visit Vietnam in the near future to further intensify bilateral relations.

As the two countries have always backed each other’s stances within international frameworks, Belarus supports Vietnam’s candidacy for membership of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for 2023 - 2025. It also highly values Vietnam’s recognition of its COVID-19 “vaccine passport”, which will facilitate exchanges and cooperation between the two peoples, according to the ambassador.

President Phuc appreciated Belarus being one of the first countries to recognise Vietnam’s “vaccine passport” and thanked the country for advocating the Southeast Asian nation’s candidacy for UNHRC membership.

He asked Belarus to create optimal conditions for more Vietnamese goods, especially agricultural and aquatic products, to enter its market to help balance bilateral trade, which approximated 169 million USD in 2021.

Suggesting both sides step up cooperation measures, especially their inter-governmental committee, the President took this occasion to thank Belarus for creating favourable conditions for Vietnamese people to live, study, and work there, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Congratulating Amal Abdel Kader Elmorsi Salama on her appointment as Ambassador of Egypt to Vietnam, President Phuc noted Vietnam treasures the long-standing friendship with Egypt and views the latter as a leading partner in Africa.

The newly-accredited diplomat spoke highly of Vietnam’s role in the international community, including ASEAN and the UN.

She recommended the two sides boost the implementation of their agreements and voiced her hope that they will further promote cultural ties as the Egyptian people highly value Vietnam’s special culture and history while her country also boasts a unique culture.

President Phuc expressed his delight at the growth in bilateral trade, investment, and educational cooperation even amid the pandemic, noting that relevant agencies of the countries should enhance coordination to further tap into cooperation potential.

They also need to keep working together and supporting each other at multilateral forums, particularly the UN and the Non-Aligned Movement, he said, adding cooperation should be strengthened to raise annual bilateral trade to 1 billion USD.

Vietnam hopes Egypt will maintain scholarships in Arabian language training for Vietnamese students and consider providing scholarships for training experts in Halal standards, Phuc went on.

Since both countries are famous for their cultures and many scenic landscapes, he called for a direct air route to be opened soon in order to foster bilateral tourism./.