Hanoi (VNA) - Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung met with his Icelandic counterpart Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir on October 18 during her visit to Vietnam to sign the Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).
Trung welcomed the positive development of multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Iceland, noting that the two countries still had considerable untapped potential.
He commended Iceland and Gunnarsdóttir personally for their positive contributions to the negotiations and signing of the Vietnam-EFTA Free Trade Agreement.
The Vietnamese minister called on the two foreign ministries to maintain close coordination and play their role as focal agencies in further advancing bilateral cooperation. He also urged them to work with relevant agencies to soon bring the newly signed agreement into force, creating new opportunities for people and businesses in both countries.
Echoing Trung's views, Gunnarsdóttir spoke highly of Vietnam's role and standing in the region and expressed a desire to work with her Vietnamese counterpart to expand cooperation in areas where both countries have strengths, significant potential and shared interests, particularly economy, trade and investment, and energy infrastructure.
She affirmed that Icelandic people and businesses had high expectations for the opportunities and potential arising from the commitments under the Vietnam-EFTA Free Trade Agreement.
On the occasion, Gunnarsdóttir invited Trung to visit Iceland at a mutually convenient time./.
