Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam attaches importance to further consolidating and developing the traditional friendship with Chile, which was founded by late Presidents Ho Chi Minh and Salvador Allende and has been cultivated by many generations of leaders and people of the two countries over the past five decades, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son said on August 27.
At a reception for Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs Alberto Van Klaveren, who is in Hanoi for an official visit from August 25-27, Son said Vietnam wishes to further deepen its comprehensive partnership with Chile and will implement specific measures to promote bilateral ties, in terms of politics-diplomacy, trade and investment, agriculture, culture, tourism and people-to-people exchange.
He suggested that the two sides coordinate to arrange and ensure the success of high-level visits, strengthen trade and investment relations on the basis of the strengths of Vietnam and Chile and make full use of opportunities brought by the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) as well as the bilateral free trade agreement.
The two countries should facilitate market access for goods of each other's strengths such as electronics and agriculture-forestry-fishery products and enhance business connections between the two sides to soon raise the annual bilateral trade to 3 billion USD from the current 2 billion USD.
Klaveren shared the results of his discussions with a number of Vietnamese ministries and agencies during the visit, suggesting that Vietnam consider facilitating procedures for licensing Chilean agricultural products to be imported into the Southeast Asian nation, and promote the exchange of business delegations between the two countries.
He conveyed Chile's message of hoping to strengthen cooperation with Vietnam and supporting it in enhancing relations with the Latin American region. He affirmed that Chile is ready to coordinate with the Vietnamese side to arrange high-level visits to bring Vietnam-Chile ties to a new height.
The same day, the Chilean diplomat also met with Secretary of the Party Central Committee and Chairman of its Commission for External Relations Le Hoai Trung and Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry Pham Tan Cong./.
