President Truong Tan Sang on August 31 told his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro Moros that Vietnam wished to deepen ties with Venezuela to benefit both countries.
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| President Truong Tan Sang (right) and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro Moros__Photo: VNA |
Receiving President Moros in Hanoi, Sang said that Vietnam backed Venezuela's constitutional government and that he believed Venezuelans would overcome challenges and reap success in the future.
President Moros said Venezuela considered Vietnam an important partner and was eager to further enhance bilateral ties.
Venezuela pledged its continued assistance to an oil-and-gas joint venture between the two national oil and gas groups in the country, and backed Vietnam's bid for a seat at the United Nations Economic and Social Council for the 2016-18 tenure, Moros said.
Both leaders agreed to improve the efficiency of established bilateral cooperation mechanisms, including the Inter-Governmental Committee for economic-trade and scientific-technological cooperation and political consultations between the two foreign ministries.
Meanwhile, ministries and agencies would improve legal frameworks through negotiating and signing deals, while facilitating business operations in the fields of energy, oil and gas, agriculture and fisheries.
The two presidents welcomed the signing of an agreement on agriculture projects for 2015-18, laying a legal framework to launch three projects on food production, aquaculture and animal breeding in Venezuela.
They also confirmed their support for joint efforts in manufacturing and processing industry, infrastructure and social housing, construction materials and electrical appliances.
With the Vietnam-Venezuela bilateral trade cooperation agreement coming into force on July 28, the two leaders looked forward to lifting their annual two-way trade from below USD 100 million at present to USD 1-2 billion in the next few years.- (VNS/VLLF)
