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Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his Belarusian counterpart Roman Golovchenko attend the signing of a visa waiver agreement between the two countries on December 8, 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy |
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his Belarusian counterpart Roman Golovchenko expressed hope that the bilateral visa waiver agreement for ordinary passport holders, signed during the visit, and the cultural cooperation program for 2023-2025 , signed in May this year, will help strengthen ties. links in terms of tourism, culture and exchanges between peoples.
Welcoming his guest, Prime Minister Chinh said the official visit from December 6 to 9, the first trip to Vietnam by a Belarusian government head in 12 years, would create new momentum for bilateral relations in all fields.
He affirmed that the Vietnamese government and people attach great importance to the traditional friendship between the two countries, nourished by many generations, especially during the past visits of President Ho Chi Minh to this Eastern European country. East.
Highly appreciating Vietnam’s socio-economic achievements, Prime Minister Golovchenko said his country cherishes traditional friendship and considers Vietnam a priority partner in Southeast Asia.
The two leaders shared their views on the importance of maintaining meetings at all levels, through all channels, between ministries, sectors and localities in their countries, as well as the need to implement mechanisms for existing cooperation. They agreed to continue their close coordination and mutual support in multilateral forums, notably at the United Nations.
Vietnam is ready to serve as a bridge to help Belarus strengthen cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the host said, calling on Belarus to support Vietnam’s position and ASEAN on the East Sea issue.
Both sides welcomed progress in economic, trade and investment partnerships, including the implementation of the free trade agreement between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), of which Belarus is a member. They believed that the two countries should further exploit their cooperation potential.
Prime Minister Chinh welcomed the results of the Vietnam-Belarus business forum held on December 7 in Ho Chi Minh City, which brought together more than 100 companies from the two countries.
He said he was delighted that the $15 million MAZ automobile manufacturing and assembly plant project in Belarus, in the northern province of Hung Yen, was operating successfully. He also welcomed the idea of establishing production joint ventures in Vietnam and Belarus in sectors corresponding to their potential and demand.
The two countries will strive to promote bilateral trade and create conditions for their products, including agricultural and aquatic products, dairy products, fertilizers and machinery, to access each other’s markets, the leaders said .
They also agreed to expand their cooperation to potential areas such as information technology, digital transformation, education – training, scientific research, culture, tourism and people-to-people exchanges. They highly appreciated the signing of a cooperation agreement between Hanoi and Minsk during their visit, as well as the signing of an intergovernmental agreement on educational cooperation last June, which will contribute to increasing exchanges of students, teachers and experts in the fields of countries have a demand.
Prime Minister Chinh took this opportunity to thank the leadership and government of Belarus for their attention to the Vietnamese community in the country, asking the Belarusian government to continue to provide favorable conditions for Vietnamese to live, work and study there. .
At the end of the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of certain bilateral cooperation documents, including an agreement on the transfer of convicted persons, an agreement on visa exemption for holders of ordinary passports, a memorandum of agreement on cooperation and information sharing in the nuclear field. safety and radiation protection, as well as a cooperation agreement on the official dissemination of Vietnamese national standards in Belarus.
