New Delhi (VNA) – Vietnamese Ambassador to India,Nepal, and Bhutan Nguyen Thanh Hai paid courtesy calls on leaders and seniorofficials of Bhutan on June 14, as part of a trip to the South Asian country to presenthis credentials.

He had meetings with Bhutanese Prime Minister Lyonchhen LotayTshering, Speaker of the National Assembly (lower house) Wangchuk Namgyel,Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade Tandi Dorji, and Minister ofEnergy and Natural Resources Loknath Sharma.

The leaders and officials of Bhutan spoke highly of Vietnam’ssocio-economic development achievements and expressed their wish to promote thetwo countries’ cooperation more strongly.

AmbassadorHai briefed his hosts on Vietnam’s socio-economic situation and foreignrelations while affirming his commitment to contributing to bilateral connections.

PM Tshering shared his Government’s strong and comprehensivereform plans, especially those on public administration, finance, education,investment attraction, and airport development, that are being discussed at theparliament.

Speaker Namgyel emphasised the role of parliamentarycooperation and people-to-people links in enhancing bilateral ties. He suggestedmeasures for increasing exchanges and coordination between the nationalassemblies of Bhutan and Vietnam, including sharing legislative experience inthe fields of common concern.

As Bhutan is striving to become a developed country by 2035,the host leaders called for stronger cooperation with Vietnam in variousspheres, particularly investment, trade, tourism, agriculture, and forestry.

Foreign Minister Dorji asked the two sides step up all-level mutualvisits as well as meetings on the sidelines of multilateral conferences. Meanwhile,Minister Sharma voiced his hope for intensified partnerships in such fields asrenewable energy, forestry, organic agriculture, and freshwater fish farming.

At the events, Ambassador Hai affirmed that Vietnam treasuresthe relations with Bhutan and hopes to help with the latter’s reform anddevelopment process.

He also shared his hosts’ view that basing on the progress intheir friendship since the diplomatic relationship was established in January2012 and the post-pandemic increase of people-to-people exchanges, the two sideshave favourable conditions to further boost all-round cooperation.

Perceiving that bilateral relations remain modest compared toboth sides’ wish and potential, the diplomat also talked about some measuresfor fostering cooperation in the areas matching the countries’ demand andadvantages.

During the working visit, Hai also attended a seminargathering many local enterprises from various sectors at the Bhutan Chamber ofCommerce and Industry to discuss business partnership chances./.