Hanoi (VNA) – The official visit to Vietnam from June 13-16 by Presidentof Côte d’Ivoire's National Assembly Adama Bictogo will mark a new development for the two countries’ relations.

The visit, made at an invitation of Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman VuongDinh Hue, is the first by a senior leader of the West African country tothe Southeast Asian nation since the two set up their diplomatic ties 48 yearsago.

Over the past years, the two sides have exchanged measuresto deepen the relationship, especially through increasing contacts andexchanging delegations at all levels, and effectively implementing bilateralcooperation mechanisms.

Vietnam and Côte d’Ivoire have regularly coordinated andsupported each other at multilateral forums such as the United Nations, theNon-Aligned Movement, the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and the InternationalOrganisation of the Francophonie.

They have also signed many cooperation documents such as amemorandum of understanding on cooperation between the two Foreign Ministriesin May 2014, and an agreement on visa exemption for diplomatic and officialpassport holders on April 18, 2017.

Since 2015, bilateral trade has increased rapidly. Côte d’Ivoire is Vietnam's second largest trade partner in Africa and Vietnam's fourthlargest export market in the continent with a turnover of 1.04 billion USD in2022.

The Vietnamese community in Côte d’Ivoire has about 300 people, of whom 50% arepermanent residents. There are nearly 1,000 small traders trading cashew nutsbetween the two countries.

The first visit to Vietnam by the President of the Côte d’Ivoire NA to Vietnam is an opportunity to make bilateral parliamentarycooperation more effective and substantive, thus helping create momentum toexpand bilateral cooperation in many other fields, especially in economics.

During his stay, Adama Bictogo is expected to have talks andmeetings with Vietnamese leaders where they will evaluate measures to increasebilateral trade turnover to be commensurate with the great potential of eachcountry in a more balanced direction, and discuss ways to improve theefficiency of signed agreements and promote cultural and people-to-peopleexchanges.

The two countries’ leaders will seek ways to facilitate theVietnamese community in Côte d’Ivoire, have specific guidelines and measures toprotect legitimate rights and interests, and ensure a safe and secureenvironment for Vietnamese people living in the West African country.

Regarding parliamentary collaboration, the two sides will exchangeviews on how to further strengthen cooperation in parliamentary diplomacy, stepup delegation exchanges, and share experience in organising relatedactivities./.