The leader of Uruguay has praised the strides made in developing cooperation between the country and Vietnam, with the highlights so far a framework agreement on trade and investment and a deal on double taxation avoidance.

Acting President Danilo Astori voiced his warm sentiment while receiving new Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Dinh Thao on May 15.

Astori highlighted the bilateral delegation exchanges which have taken place recently, with the latest Uruguay visit undertaken by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh resulting in the signing of the two main cooperation documents.

During the December visit, the Uruguayan Government announced its decision to recognise Vietnam as a full market economy.

Ambassador Thao said Vietnam hopes to push all-around cooperation with Uruguay , prioritising trade and investment.

The sound political relations have contributed to moving bilateral trade ties forward, Thao said, raising statistics from Uruguay’s customs office that two-way trade hit over 81.5 million USD last year, the highest ever recorded, representing a year-on-year rise of 20 percent.

Of the amount, Vietnam ’s exports stood at 27.5 million USD, up 14.4 percent, while its imports from the South American country soared 22.7 percent to 54 million USD.

In addition to forging political and economic ties, the pair are also embracing cultural cooperation to match their potential.

They agreed to continue strengthening bilateral coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums and international organisations like the United Nations in the future.-VNA