The similarities in the national construction plans between Bolivia and Vietnam are the basis for the two countries to further strengthen cooperation in fields such as oil and gas and agriculture, Bolivian President Evo Morales has said.

The Bolivian leader met with visiting Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh in La Paz on December 6.

Morales proposed the two sides increasingly work to overcome the difficulties presented by geographical distance separating the two countries.

He expressed his admiration for Vietnam ’s historical tradition and preeminent figures such as President Ho Chi Minh and General Vo Nguyen Giap, while congratulating the country on its recent socio-economic development achievements.

For his part, Deputy PM Ninh thanked the Bolivian Government and its people for their valuable support to Vietnam in the past and at present. He also reaffirmed Vietnam ’s policy to promote all-round ties with Latin American countries, including Bolivia .

At talks between Deputy PM Ninh with his Bolivian counterpart Alvaro Garcia on the same day, the two officials briefed each other on their country’s economic situation. They said that recent bilateral ties between the two sides developed increasingly positively due to high-ranking official visits.

The host and guest also agreed about many measures to promote relations between the two countries, including maintaining delegation exchanges at all levels; implementing newly-established cooperation frameworks and enhancing economic-trade ties, especially in strong fields such as oil and gas, mining, agriculture and textiles.

The two nations demonstrated their determinations to coordinate and support each other at international organisations and multilateral forums such as the United Nations, the Non-aligned Movement and the World Trade Organisation to enhance their positions, thus contributing actively to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.

In the afternoon of the same day, the Vietnamese official visited the state-owned oil and gas company of Bolivia (YPFB). He said he hopes that YPFB and Vietnam ’s National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) will be able to cooperate effectively in the future.

Deputy President of YPFB Jorge Marquez affirmed that his group will create favourable conditions for PetroVietnam to access the most accurate information when it invests in oil and gas in Bolivia next year.

Also the same day, Vietnamese Deputy Head of the Government Office, Deputy Mnisters of Foreign Affairs, Industry and Trade, Finance and Agriculture and Rural Development held meetings with their Bolivian counterparts.

The officials discussed specific action programmes in order to implement signed agreements that will further deepen bilateral relations.

Deputy PM Ninh and the Vietnamese Government delegation visited several of Bolivia ’s historical and cultural monuments before wrapping up their visit to Bolivia on December 7.-VNA