Vietnamese Ambassador to Egypt Nguyen Huy Dung speaks at the ceremony. (Photo: vov.vn)Cairo (VNA) – The Vietnamese Embassy in Egypt on July 26held a ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment ofVietnam-Egypt diplomatic ties (September 1, 1963 – September 1, 2023).
Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang attended the event aspart of his official visit to Egypt.
Speaking at the ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to EgyptNguyen Huy Dung highlighted the development of the friendship and cooperativerelationship between Vietnam and Egypt over the past 60 years.
Egypt was the first country in Africa-Middle East toestablish diplomatic relations with Vietnam in 1963. The two nations have many similarities in history and share a common aspiration forfreedom and independence, the diplomat said, stating that they are symbols of resilience andindomitability in the struggle for national liberation.
The ambassador emphasised that the bilateral relationshipbetween Vietnam and Egypt has constantly developed,especially after high-level visits by leaders of the two countries in 2017 and2018. On the occasions of the Vietnam visit by Egyptian President Abdel FattahEl-Sisi in 2017 and the visit to Egypt in 2018 by President Tran Dai Quang, thetwo countries signed nearly 20 bilateral cooperation documents.
The ambassador said that the two sides are actively andeffectively implementing those agreements.
Delegates attend the celebration. (Photo: vov.vn)He affirmed that Egypt is one of the important trade partners and a potentialmarket of Vietnam in the Africa-Middle East region with two-way trade turnover surpassing 600 million USD in 2022. The two countries aim to increasethe trade turnover to 1 billion USD in the coming time.
Ambassador Dung emphasised that Vietnam and Egypt have greatpotential to strengthen cooperation in all fields, especially economy, trade,logistics, culture, education, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges. The twocountries have also promoted local cooperation in recent years.
Affirming the growingeconomic ties between the two countries despite the impacts of the COVID-19pandemic, Deputy Assistant Foreign Minister for Asian Affairs Hazem El-Tahrysaid the two sides are also making efforts to strengthen the legal frameworkfor bilateral cooperation by updating existing agreements and finalising newones.
El Tahry said that cultural exchange is an important pillarof the Vietnam-Egypt relationship, and suggested that the two countries step upcultural cooperation and people-to-people exchanges to enhance mutualunderstanding between the two peoples.
On the sameday, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang met with officials and employees ofthe Vietnamese Embassy and the overseas Vietnamese community in Egypt./.
