Abu Dhabi (VNA) - Vice President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan hosted an official welcome ceremony with a 21-cannon salute at the Presidential Palace in Abu Dhabi on October 28 morning (local time) for Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, his spouse and a high-ranking delegation of Vietnam.
PM Chinh, his spouse and the high-ranking delegation of Vietnam are paying an official visit to the UAE at the invitation of President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
The visit, the first of its kind of a Prime Minister of Vietnam over the past 15 years, is taking place in the context that the bilateral relations are developing well across all fields, especially politics, diplomacy, trade, investment, labour and tourism.
Political trust and mutual understanding between the two countries have been consistently consolidated, reflected through vibrant delegation exchanges at different levels.
Economic collaboration has always been an important pillar and a bright spot in the overall picture of the Vietnam-UAE relations. The UAE is currently Vietnam's largest export market in the Middle East and Africa, with two-way trade reaching 4.96 billion USD in the first nine months of this year, higher than the 4.7 billion USD recorded in the whole year of 2023.
As of September 2024, the UAE had 42 projects valued at 74.09 million USD in Vietnam, ranking 52nd among 148 countries and territories investing in the Southeast Asian nation.
PM Chinh's official visit is expected to contribute to strengthening political trust, elevating relations, and creating breakthroughs in bilateral ties in numerous fields, from economy, trade, and investment to new areas such as innovation, science, technology, energy and Halal industry.
In particular, during the visit, the two sides are expected to upgrade the bilateral relations and sign the Vietnam-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), striving to soon achieve the target of 10 billion USD in trade turnover in the near future and even higher in the following years, and opening up a new era of cooperation between Vietnam and the UAE, as well as with countries in the Middle East./.
