President Vo Van Thuong (R) and Deputy President of South Africa Paul Mashatile at their meeting in Hanoi on December 14 (Photo: VNA) The host stressed that his guest’s official visit from December 12 to 15 takes placeat an important point of time, when the two countries are celebrating the 30th anniversary of their diplomatic relations.
He highly valued thesubstantive and productive talks between Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan andDeputy President Mashatil, emphasising Vietnam’sconsistent foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification and multilateralisationof foreign relations, being a friend and trustworthy partner of countries, andbeing a responsible member of the international community.
Given the two countries’ close-knitties that date back to the 1960s, President Thuong expressed his hope that thetwo sides will keep strengthening cooperation in different fields in the timeahead.
For his part, Mashatile perceived that Vietnam andSouth Africa share many similarities to boost cooperation for commondevelopment.
TheAfrican National Congress (ANC) party treasures and wishes to enhance multifacetedrelations with Vietnam, he stated.
The DeputyPresident informed his host about the outcomes of his successful talkswith the Vice President of Vietnam, elaborating that the two sides reviewed thecooperation over the recent past, especially the implementation of the outcomesof Vice President Xuan’s visit to South Africa last September, and identifiedcooperation orientations for the time ahead.
At the meeting, the two leaders agreed to increase mutualvisits, especially high-level ones, to further deepen political trust.
They concurred in thecontinued coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums, especiallythe United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), and the South - South cooperation.
Speaking highlyof the two countries’ important positions as gateways in their respectiveregions, both host and guest agreed to promote Vietnam’s cooperation with the AfricanUnion and South Africa’s ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The twocountries will step up connections in economy, trade, investment, education,training, and such new areas as digital transformation, and green economy,which match both sides’ potential and demand, to practically servesocio-economic development in each country.
Vietnamand South Africa will also encourage their businesses to increase meetings, promotetrade and investment, and expand cooperation with each other, the leaders said.
Highlightingthe countries’ rich cultures and tourism potential, they agreed to activelyfacilitate people-to-people, cultural, and tourism exchanges to enhance mutual understandingand sentiment between the two peoples.
PresidentThuong thanked the State and Government of South Africa for their attention toand support for the Vietnamese community there to live, work stably, contributeto local society, and serve as a bridge helping reinforce bilateralcooperation.
At themeeting, Mashatile also said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa hopes tomeet with President Thuong to discuss measures for promoting the countries’relations. Meanwhile, the host leader extended an invitation to the SouthAfrican President to pay a visit to Vietnam at an appropriate time./.
VNA
