Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang (L) and First Deputy Speaker of the Egyptian House of Representatives Ahmed Saad El-Din Mohamed Abd El-Rehim. (Photo: VNA) Cairo (VNA) – Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang’svisit to Egypt from July 25-27 has been a success, with significant,substantial and comprehensive outcomes, opening up a new period in bilateraleconomic, trade and investment cooperation, said Deputy Minister of ForeignMinister Ha Kim Ngoc.
During an interview recentlygranted to Vietnam News Agency in Cairo, Ngoc said in terms of politics, thevisit was a practical activity marking the 60th anniversary of Vietnam-Egyptdiplomatic ties, contributing to consolidating traditional and trustworthy friendshipwith Egypt, a leading partner of Vietnam in the Middle East and North Africa. High-ranking Egyptianleaders met and held talks with Deputy PM Quang.
It could be said that the visit has created astrong driving force for comprehensive partnership between Vietnam and Egypt,he said.
According to him, bothsides reached consensus on a range of important measures to lift two-way trade to1 billion USD from around 600 million USD last year.
They agreed to create favourable conditionsfor each other's major export items, promote cooperation on Halal products, andestablish the Vietnam-Egypt Business Council in the coming time. They willorganise the sixth meeting of the Vietnam-Egypt Joint Committee while strengtheningfinancial-monetary and locality-to-locality collaboration.
The capital cities of Hanoi and Cairo signeda friendship and cooperation agreement while another betweenthe State Bank of Vietnam and the Central Bank of Egypt was also inked.
Notably, the Vietnamese official held thefirst-ever high-level meeting with leaders of the Arab League (AL)headquartered in Cairo, marking a significant milestone contributing to more effective and substantial cooperation between Vietnam and the AL and its 22 membercountries which have a population of 500 million and a total GDP of over7 trillion USD, he said, adding that the two countries’ leaders support and share political determination to lift bilateral ties to a greater height.
According to Ngoc, Minister of Industry andTrade Nguyen Hong Dien said both sides are exploring the possibility ofstarting negotiations on a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Vietnamand Egypt, and the next step could be an investment protection agreementbetween the two countries.
The two sides have offered mutual support atmultilateral forums and stepped up cooperation between ASEAN and the AL. Inthis regard, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs signed an agreementwith the AL Secretariat to boost collaboration in areas of shared interest, headded./.
