Santiago (VNA) – Chilean President Gabriel Boric Font hosted a welcome ceremony in Santiago on November 11 for Vietnamese State President Luong Cuong, who is on an official visit to the South American country.
Following the ceremony, the leaders held talks, where they compared notes on measures to deepen and raise the efficiency of the comprehensive cooperation between the two countries.
Earlier, Cuong and his entourage laid a wreath at the monument dedicated to national hero Bernardo O'Higgins, who led Chile's fight for independence from colonial rule in the early 19th century.
This is the first visit to Chile by a Vietnamese State President in 15 years, coinciding with the 55th anniversary of the historic meeting between President Ho Chi Minh and President Salvador Allende, which laid the foundation for Chile to become the first country in South America to establish diplomatic ties with Vietnam.
Over the years, despite their geographical distance, diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Chile have been developing fruitfully. Political-diplomatic relations between the two countries have been increasingly close and reliable, demonstrated through visits and meetings between senior leaders and officials of ministries, sectors and localities.
Trade cooperation remains a highlight of the bilateral relations. Over the past decade, two-way trade has quadrupled, reaching 1.5 billion USD in 2023. Chile is now one of Vietnam’s key partners in the region and the first Latin American country to sign a Free Trade Agreement with Vietnam in 2014. As both are members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, ample room remains for their cooperation.
The visit also aims to continue implementing the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification and multilateralisation of foreign relations, proactive, positive, comprehensive and extensive international integration and raising the level of multilateral foreign affairs in the spirit of the 13th National Party Congress, contributing to promoting peace, cooperation, economic linkage and regional connectivity. It also demonstrates Vietnam's consistent policy of always treasuring and wishing to consolidate and promote the Vietnam-Chile relations./.
