The Vietnamese Party, State and people appreciated the invaluable support that Russian people had rendered Vietnam during their struggles for national independence, President Truong Tan Sang said during his four-day (May 7-10) visit to Russia.
He said Vietnam-Russia cooperation in national defense and security would contribute to peace and stability in the region and beyond.
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| Russian President Vladimir Putin receives his Vietnamese counterpart Truong Tan Sang in the Kremlin palace, Moscow, on May 9 __Photo: Nguyen Khang/VNA |
Speaking with Russian business leaders, Sang pledged to provide all possible support for Russian investors in Vietnam, saying that Vietnam wished to give high priority to ties with Russia as the country shifted to a new growth model, fine-tuned its legal framework and stepped up infrastructure development.
During his visit to the Czech Republic on May 10-13, President Sang and his Czech Republic counterpart, Milos Zeman, agreed to bring economic-trade and investment links on par with their potential and promote cooperation in education and training, national defense and security, science and technology, and culture, sports and tourism.
Sang asked the Czech Republic to continue supporting Vietnam’s projects in environmental protection, forestation, community health care, insurance and hospital construction with official development assistance.
President Zeman confirmed that the Czech Republic has ratified the EU-Vietnam Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Partnership and Cooperation and pledged to urge the EU for early approval.
He also pledged to push for early signing of the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement and recognition of Vietnam as a market economy.
During the visit, the two presidents witnessed the signing of documents on cooperation between the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and two Czech partners, and between the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam and Eximbanka of Slovakia and CEB of the Czech Republic.
In Azerbaijan (May 13-15), President Sang and his Azerbaijan counterpart Ilham Aliyev focused on measures to develop economic, trade and investment ties between the two countries.
They agreed to exchange delegations, especially those of business representatives, to boost trade promotion and increase the share of Vietnamese goods in Azerbaijan and vice versa, increasing the total two-way trade from USD 400 million in 2014 to USD 1 billion in the coming years.
President Aliyev pledged to create favorable conditions for Vietnam’s investment in Azerbaijan, laying the foundations for joint oil and gas projects in a third country.
The two leaders witnessed the signing of inter-governmental agreements on cooperation and administrative assistance in customs and on air transportation; and memoranda of understanding on cooperation in agriculture, transport, and oil and gas.-
