Minsk (VNA) – General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam and President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko agreed to elevate bilateral ties to a strategic partnership during talks held on May 12, as part of the former’s state visit to Belarus.
Speaking at a joint press conference following the talks, President Lukashenko described the upgrade as appropriate to the current context and reflective of the two sides’ genuine friendship, mutual respect for bilateral ties, and shared aspiration for long-term, effective cooperation. He affirmed Belarus's readiness to supply Vietnam with key export goods such as tractors, automobiles, and some agricultural products.
President Lukashenko expressed his hope that both sides would further enhance the role and effectiveness of the countries’ intergovernmental committee on economic, trade, scientific and technical cooperation. He also encouraged full implementation of the free trade agreement between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which facilitates Vietnamese and Belarusian businesses in expanding their presence in each other’s markets.
Belarus will also step up joint work with Vietnam in science-technology, and education-training, he stated, highlighting the vast potential for the sides in locality-to-locality cooperation.
The president noted among recent initiatives is the launch of a direct flight route between the countries, contributing to their stronger tourism development, cultural collaboration and people-to-people exchange.
Lukashenko added that the talks saw the sides agreeing on a number of agreements and a proposed roadmap for cooperation in the coming years.
Also addressing the media, General Secretary Lam described his visit as an affirmation of Vietnam’ determination to join the Belarusian friend in bringing their relationship to a new phase of development.
He hailed the talks as highly successful, noting that both leaders welcomed the significant progress made over the 33 years since diplomatic ties were established, particularly in areas such as political trust, defence-security, science-technology, trade, investment, and education.
The Party chief said based on these achievements and with strong confidence in the future of bilateral relations, the two countries adopted a joint statement on establishing the strategic partnership, laying the foundation to elevate ties to a new height for the sake of their people as well as for peace, stability, and development in the region and the world. Agreements signed during the visit covered cooperation in science-technology, health, justice, culture, and people-to-people exchange, setting a positive tone for the next chapter of collaboration.
General Secretary Lam noted the two sides agreed to intensify teamwork across major directions, including politics-diplomacy, defence industry, military medicine, training, counter-terrorism, information sharing, cybersecurity, economy, trade, and investment. They also committed to expanding cooperation in emerging fields of mutual interest such as digital economy, digital transformation, agriculture, industry, and energy./.
