Hanoi (VNA) – A
delegation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs led by Deputy Minister Ha Kim
Ngoc visited Brazil and participated in the fourth political consultation at
the deputy foreign minister level between the two countries on June 29-30.
During the trip, Ngoc paid a
courtesy visit to Brazilian Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes Ferreira, held talks
with his counterpart Georges Lamaziere, and worked with leaders of the Ministry
of Agriculture, Livestock, and Supply.
At the meetings and talks, both
sides affirmed that the political consultation mechanism is an important
activity that should be maintained and organised regularly to seek measures to
develop bilateral relations practically and effectively.
They shared a view that
cooperative ties have grown positively with two-way trade exceeding 3 billion
USD in 2016, up 30 percent compared with the figure in 2013. However, economic
and investment cooperation remains modest, failing to match the two countries’
potential, especially in the fields of agriculture, manufacturing and
processing industries, energy and clean fuels, bio-technology, aviation and
infrastructure construction.
The two sides agreed to continue increasing
the exchange of delegations at all levels. The Brazilian Foreign Minister plans
to visit Vietnam late this year to tighten bilateral relations and speed up the
signing of several agreements, including an agreement on investment protection
and encouragement, a deal on double taxation avoidance, and cooperation
documents related to agriculture, education, maritime shipping and tourism.
They stressed the need for the
two Governments to create favourable conditions for their business communities
to gain access to each other’s market.
Regarding the multilateral
cooperation, both sides highly valued close coordination at international
organisations and multilateral forums, especially at the United Nations and its
subordinate agencies, and the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
The officials also exchanged
opinions on regional and international issues of mutual concern, affirming that
Vietnam and Brazil support each other in increasing cooperation in Southeast
Asia and Latin America.
They affirmed their stance on
backing the settlement of sovereign disputes through dialogues and by peaceful
means and observing international law, especially the United Nations Convention
on the Law of the Sea 1982.-VNA