Hanoi (VNA) –Delegation exchanges at the highest level between Vietnam and Egypt will createa solid foundation for bilateral cooperation to develop, said VietnameseAmbassador to the African nation Do Hoang Long.

He made the remark in an interview with VietnamNews Agency ahead of a trip to Egypt from August 25 to 29 by President Tran DaiQuang. This will be the first State visit by a Vietnamese head of State to Egyptsince the countries set up diplomatic ties in 1963.

Ambassador Long underlined the importance ofthis tour as it is not only a reciprocal visit after Egyptian President AbdelFattah el-Sisi came to Vietnam in September 2017 but will also reiterate the commitmentsboth sides made last year and strengthen bilateral connections in all aspectssuch as politics, economy, trade, investment, culture and education.

During the trip to Vietnam by President el-Sisi,the two countries’ leaders witnessed the signing of nine cooperation agreementsin various fields, and the implementation of these deals has resulted inencouraging outcomes, he added.

During President Quang’s tour, the two sidesplan to ink cooperation documents relating to finance, stock market, oil andgas and education. They will be a basis for them to translate words intoaction, reinforcing relations in trade, investment, culture, politics,education and many other areas.

[Egyptian newspaper hails cooperation ꧃♓prospects with Vietnam]

The diplomat affirmed that there remains muchpotential for both sides to strengthen links in fields of their strength,including agriculture, services and sea-based economy. However, current partnershipsremain modest, with bilateral trade only about 350 million USD per annum atpresent. Their businesses haven’t had enough information to learn about eachother’s markets.

To reach the annual trade target of 1 billionUSD, both countries need to make stronger efforts, Long said, adding that theyshould create a legal corridor for enterprises, ministries and sectors to carryout concrete activities. Meanwhile, businesses also need to be more active ingaining information, learning about markets and seeking partners.

Services are the field Vietnam and Egypt shouldalso increase collaboration in, especially those with high added value, sinceif they only depend on the export of goods, mainly agricultural products, itwill be very difficult for them to boost trade to 1 billion USD.

The ambassador suggested cooperation be fosteredin new spheres, particularly in the context of Industry 4.0, noting Vietnam hasstrengths in software production and export and telecom services. These arefields the two sides should capitalise on to raise bilateral trade to 1 billionUSD each year.

In terms of culture and people-to-peopleexchange, Long said they are also important areas because culture andpeople-to-people exchange are the bridge helping the two peoples understandmore about each other. He said the countries need to increase delegationexchanges between cultural and arts associations to boost mutual understanding.-VNA