Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung (R) and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and President Alexander Lukashenko reached consensus on the list of top priorities for cooperation between Vietnam and Belarus during their meeting in Hanoi on December 9.
Accordingly, the list spans politics-diplomacy, economics-trade-investment-tourism, education-training, military technology, and science-technology and research.
The leaders highly appreciated the signing of economic contracts worth 350 million USD by the two countries’ businesses during President Lukashenko’s ongoing visit to Vietnam.
Lauding the smooth implementation of cooperation projects in manufacturing and assembling trucks and buses, they said the projects’ outcomes will help expand the affiliation in other realms.
Host and guest agreed to push for the early ratification and implementation of the Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union, in which Belarus is a member.
They consented to elevate the Vietnam-Belarus Intergovernmental Committee to the ministerial level and convene the first meeting of the new-level committee in Minsk early next year in order to identify specific cooperation programmes and projects.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung pledged to back members of the Eurasian Economic Union, including Belarus, to expand their relations with ASEAN countries and access the market.
The Belarusian President shared his views on the stance of Vietnam and other ASEAN member countries on ensuring and preserving peace, stability, security, maritime and aviation safety and freedom in the East Sea, which is an important condition for cooperation and development in the region and the world as a whole.
PM Dung described President Lukashenko’s visit to Vietnam as a new landmark contributing to lifting the bilateral relations to a new height.
Vietnam is keen to join hands with Belarus to deepen the relationship in a pragmatic and effective fashion, for the interests and development of the two countries and peoples, he noted.
On this occasion, the President invited Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to pay an official visit to Belarus.-VNA
