Hanoi (VNA) – The official visit to Vietnam from April 19-20 by Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi will enhance bilateral friendship and boost cooperation in order to create a foundation to develop the two sides partnership, according to Vietnamese Ambassador to Myanmar Luan Thuy Duong.

This is the first official visit to Vietnam by Aung San Suu Kyi, who is also Myanmar’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the President’s Office.

According to Ambassador Duong, during the visit Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and the State Counsellor will hold talks and witness the signing of several important documents.

The two countries’ leaders will review the development of bilateral relations, especially since the establishment of the comprehensive cooperative partnership in August 2017 during a State visit to Myanmar by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong.

They are expected to discuss measures to intensify collaboration in politics, trade, investment, defence, agriculture, fisheries and forestry, energy, telecoms, tourism, education and people-to-people exchanges.

They will also exchange views on regional issues, and discusses measures to strengthen cooperation at multilateral forums which help ensure each nation’s interests and contribute to peace, stability and development, Duong stated.

The diplomat continued by saying that over the years, delegation exchanges have consolidated bilateral friendship and trust.

Economic ties developed well, with two-way trade hitting 828.3 million USD in 2017, up 51 percent from 2016. Vietnam is now Myanmar’s ninth largest trade partner.

 

[Myanmar State Counsellor’s Vietnam visit to tighten bilateral ties]

Vietnam is the seventh biggest foreign investor in Myanmar with around 2.1 billion USD. Vietnam currently has 196 commercial presences in Myanmar as representative offices, subsidiaries, joint venture companies and Vietnamese-invested companies, Duong shared.

She said that the two countries have boosted bilateral cooperation mechanisms such as the joint committee on bilateral cooperation and the joint sub-committee on trade.

Political consultations have also created a number of common stances between the countries in regional and international issues, she stated, adding that they have supported each other at sub-regional, regional and international forums such as the United Nations, ASEAN, Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam cooperation, Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy and the Greater Mekong Sub-region.

Recent developments in bilateral defence cooperation have been appreciated, which is reflected through Vietnamese Defence Minister Ngo Xuan Lich’s visit to Myanmar and the Vietnam visit by Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Services of Myanmar Min Aung Hlaing in 2017.

Last year, the two countries signed a cultural cooperation programme for 2017-2020 during Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s Myanmar visit.

They also inked a memorandum of understanding on educational cooperation.

The diplomat expressed her belief with efforts from both sides, bilateral friendship and cooperation will reap more fruits, thus bringing about benefits for the two peoples, and for peace, stability, development and prosperity in the region and the world.-VNA