Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh has affirmed that Vietnam highly values the role of Egypt in the region and the world, and attaches much importance to developing all-around ties with the country.

During the seventh regular political consultations between the two foreign ministries in Hanoi on November 4, FM Minh told Egyptian Assistant Foreign Minister Ahmed Ismail that in the future, the two sides should exert more efforts to beef up bilateral relations to meet the potential and desire of both peoples.

He proposed that the two sides should increase exchanges of delegations at all levels and meetings between localities and businesses of both countries, while speeding up the implementation of bilateral cooperation agreements, practically preparing for the fifth meeting of the Vietnam-Egypt Joint Committee scheduled for 2014 in Hanoi.

FM Minh also underlined the need to hasten negotiations and the signing of a number of cooperation agreements in banking, insurance, finance, information and communications, thus completing a legal framework for the bilateral cooperation.

He also praised Ahmed Ismail’s participation in the economic cooperation forum between Vietnam and the Middle East-North Africa, describing the attendance as a positive contribution to the success of the event.

For his part, Ahmed Ismail spoke highly of the achievements that Vietnam has gained during its national construction. He lauded Vietnam ’s initiative to organise the economic forum with Middle East-North African partners, which has created a breakthrough in multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and countries in the regions.

On the occasion, Ahmed Ismail informed the Vietnamese side of Egypt’s decision to recognise the full market economy of Vietnam.

During the consultations, the two sides confirmed that they will continue to work closely to hold activities to mark the 50th anniversary of Vietnam-Egypt diplomatic ties.

They reached a consensus on direction and methods to foster the bilateral ties in the future, especially in promising areas like trade, oil and gas, telecommunications, agriculture, tourism, aquaculture, and education and training.

They also discussed many international and regional matters of mutual concern.

During his stay in Vietnam, Ahmed Ismail also held working sessions with leaders of Ministries of Industry and Trade and Agriculture and Rural Development.-VNA