Vietnamese Ambassador to Brazil Do Ba Khoa (R)and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, Ambassador Reinaldo de Almeida Salgado (Photo: VNA) Brasilia (VNA) – Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, Ambassador Reinaldo de Almeida Salgado, has affirmed the Brazilian government’s commitments to continuously prioritising the development of relations with Vietnam.
He made the affirmation while attending a ceremony held in Brasilia by the Embassy of Vietnam in Brazil to mark the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between the two countries (May 8, 1989).
At the function, Ambassador Do Ba Khoa highlighted important milestones since Vietnam and Brazil set up diplomatic ties in 1989 and comprehensive partnership in 2007.
The political trust and mutual understanding between the two countries’ leaders and peoples over the past 30 years have been significantly increased through exchanges of hundreds of all-level delegations, including many at high level and ministerial level, he said.
The mutual trust and political determination have facilitated the reinforcement of the legal framework for bilateral cooperation via the signing and implementation of 16 agreements and protocols on cooperation in various fields such as science-technology, maritime transport, civil aviation, agriculture, health care, trade, tourism, State diplomacy, people-to-people external affairs, and locality-to-locality cooperation, he added.
The relationship between the two countries’ parliaments, friendship parliamentary groups, and friendship associations has contributed to the expansion of the bilateral cooperation, according to the ambassador.
He added that the operation of the Joint Committee between the two governments and the political consultation between the two foreign ministries have helped enhance the understanding of mutual needs, promote their support for socio-economic development in the respective countries, and increase their position at regional and international organisations.
The ambassador described trade exchange as a spotlight in the bilateral relations. Two-way trade increased to 4.51 billion USD in 2018 from 29 million USD in 2001. Within eight years from 2010 to 2018, the bilateral trade increased over four times and Vietnam became the most important partner of Brazil among ASEAN member nations.
He affirmed that Vietnam will spare no effort to further deepen its cooperative ties with Brazil – a leading important partner of the Southeast Asian country in South America, while expanding Vietnam-Mercosul (Southern Common Market) and ASEAN-Mercosul regional cooperation.
For his part, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Reinaldo de Almeida Salgado praised the long-standing relations and friendship between Vietnam and Brazil, affirming that the establishment of diplomatic ties with Vietnam 30 years ago was an important milestone and a right decision of the Brazilian government.
Over the past years, the two countries’ governments have worked to promote the bilateral relations in all fields and actively cooperate and support each other at multilateral forums, he said.
The two sides also held regular delegation exchanges at all levels and worked together for mutual benefits as well as step up cooperation between their parliaments, friendship parliamentary groups and peoples, he added.
In recent years, Vietnam has become the fifth biggest trade partner of Brazil in Asia, he noted.
The current reforms in Brazil and the “Doi Moi” (reform) in Vietnam will help promote the bilateral affiliation across the board, he said.-VNA
VNA
