In an interview with a Vietnam News Agency correspondent on the occasion of the55th anniversary of Vietnam-Algeria diplomatic ties (October 28),Ambassador Tru said it’s time for the two countries to review theirrelationship and advance multi-faceted cooperation and elevate the relations toa new level as mentioned during then-Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s visit toAlgeria in 2015.
The 11th meeting of the Vietnam-Algeria Inter-GovernmentalCommittee, scheduled for November 27-29, 2017 in Algiers, should focus on howto materialise the target, he said.
Tru suggested the two countries enhance collaboration in economy, trade andtourism as Algeria is opening up to foreign investors.
The ambassador also called on the two countries to step up ties in culture andsports, as well as cooperation between their localities.
He emphasised that the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties on October28, 1962 opened up a new chapter for the relationship between Vietnam andAlgeria as independent nations.
Reviewing ties over the past more than five decades, Tru said on June 11, 1969,Algeria advanced its relations with the Provisional Revolutionary Government ofthe Republic of South Vietnam to the ambassadorial level.
Accordingly, Algeria financed theoperation of the Embassy of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of theRepublic of South Vietnam in the country, he said.
Since 1970, Vietnam and Algeria have exchanged high-ranking delegations andconsolidated ties and cooperation across fields, including at the internationalarena, especially the UN and the Non-Aligned Movement.
Tru underlined the exchange of experts between the two countries, withthousands of Vietnamese experts sent to Algeria from 1980-1990.
The two countries have also made strides in trade cooperation, he said, notingthat Algeria is one of Vietnam’s major African export markets.
He said Vietnam’s investment in the Bir Seba joint-venture is one of very few Vietnameseoil and gas projects abroad operating successfully, with 20,000 barrels per day.
On this occasion, the diplomat recalled the mutual support between Vietnam andAlgeria during their struggles for independence.
The friendship is a shared valuable asset that needs to be developed to a newheight, he said.-VNA