Hanoi (VNA) – National Assembly (NA) Chairman Tran Thanh Man’s official visits to Armenia and Uzbekistan are expected to maintain and further strengthen the traditional friendship and explore opportunities to promote cooperation, and elevate the relations between Vietnam and the Central Asian countries to new heights, a Vietnamese diplomat has said.

In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA), Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia, Uzbekistan and Armenia Dang Minh Khoi spotlighted key milestones in the relations between Vietnam and the two nations, saying that these are the first visits by a senior leader of Vietnam to these countries.

According to the diplomat, although Vietnam officially established diplomatic ties with Uzbekistan and Armenia in 1992, their connection dated back further. Uzbekistan and Armenia were once a republic of the Soviet Union, with which Vietnam established diplomatic relations on January 30, 1950. Therefore, it can be said that Vietnam’s ties with the two nations have spanned 75 years.

Leaders of these two countries have visited Vietnam several times, including the visit by the President of Uzbekistan in 2012, the President of the National Assembly of Armenia in 2024, along with numerous ministerial and deputy ministerial-level visits.

Khoi also highlighted the key areas of potential cooperation that Vietnam can develop with these two Central Asian countries, especially in the oil and gas industry.

Within the framework of the visits, NA Chairman Man will hold talks with the President of the Armenian NA, the Chairman of the Senate, and the Speaker of the Legislative Chamber of Uzbekistan, as well as meet with the Presidents and Prime Ministers of the two nations.

The diplomat said that apart from strengthening inter-parliamentary cooperation, sharing experience in building institutions and laws, and boosting cooperation between friendship parliamentary groups, the visits will also focus on discussions with leaders of these two countries on major principles and specific measures to further expand bilateral cooperation across fields, especially in politics, economics, trade, culture, and education.

As part of these visits, business forums will be organised, bringing together many state-owned and private enterprises from Vietnam and the two countries to discuss specific areas of cooperation. With Armenia, discussions will focus on the production of phones, electronic components, textiles, and agricultural and seafood products. Meanwhile, with Uzbekistan, the focus will expand to oil and gas exploration, mining, agriculture and textiles.

Vietnam will also discuss measures to expand tourism and aviation, and education – training cooperation with both Central Asian nations, Khoi added.

The diplomat expressed his hope that the visits not only help maintain the traditional friendly relations between Vietnam and the two nations, but also create new momentum to elevate cooperation to higher levels, ensuring that it is substantial, effective, and commensurate with the political relations between Vietnam and these countries.

Khoi underlined the need to boost mutual understanding, and help businesses of Vietnam and the two nations to fully grasp the market information and potential.

Uzbekistan considers Vietnam as a gateway to strengthen its connections with other ASEAN member countries, and it also stands ready to serve as a bridge for Vietnam to connect with European countries, he said.

Vietnam is the first country to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), of which Armenia is a member. Within the bilateral framework as well as under the EAEU framework, there are many opportunities to boost bilateral economic and trade cooperation, he went on.

The ambassador showed his belief that cooperation between Vietnam and Armenia, both bilaterally and within the EAEU framework, will grow stronger in the near future.

He is also confident that with the economic development momentum and trade cooperation potential between Vietnam and the two nations, especially after NA Chairman Man’s visits, the Vietnamese communities in Uzbekistan and Armenia will continue to rapidly increase in the number in the near future./.