Vietnam urged to open diplomatic representative agency in Colombia

Vietnamese Ambassador to Venezuela and Colombia Vu Trung My (L) presents Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong's credentials to Colombian President Gustavo Petro Urrego (Photo: VNA) 

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam should open its embassy in Colombia soon to promote bilateral cooperation, especially in the fields of economy and trade, to match the friendship relationship and existing potential between the two countries, Colombian President Gustavo Petro Urrego has said.

The Colombian President made the suggestion at a reception on November 8 for Vietnamese Ambassador to Venezuela and Colombia Vu Trung My.

While presenting Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong's credentials to the Colombian leader, My said Vietnam and Colombia should continue to promote economic, trade and investment cooperation to be on par with their solid political relations, including the effective implementation of a Memorandum of Understanding on trade, investment and industry cooperation as well as the plan proposed at the first meeting of the Vietnam-Colombia Joint Economic Committee in late September this year.

He took this occasion to convey regards of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong, President Vo Van Thuong, and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to President Gustavo Petro Urrego.

The ambassador reaffirmed Vietnam’s consistent policy on constantly promoting relations with the Latin American nation on three pillars - Party diplomacy, State diplomacy and people-to-people diplomacy.

The Vietnamese diplomat suggested the two countries strengthen their coordination in organising activities to celebrate the 45th founding anniversary of Vietnam – Colombia diplomatic ties in 2024, including the exchange of high-ranking delegations.

He promised to do his utmost to contribute to promoting friendship relations and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries.

Earlier, Ambassador Vu Trung My presented a copy of the credentials to Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Coy and had meetings with representatives of the Chamber of Representatives, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, and the Ministry of Culture of Colombia.

Colombia is one of Vietnam's most important partners in Latin America, with two-way trade maintaining high growth throughout recent global turmoil. In 2022, the two-way trade hit 742 million USD, up 11.4% year-on-year, and doubling within five years from 2018. Colombia is Vietnam's 5th largest trading partner in Latin America./.