Cairo (VNA) ♈- Head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations Hoang Binh Quan led a delegation on a working visit to Palestine, Israel and Egypt from November 9-17 , with a view to strengthening relations.

The Vietnamese official met with Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, Egyptian PM Sherif Ismail and Chairman of the Fo reign Affairs and Defense committee of Israel Tzachi Hanegbi. He held talks with representatives from the Palestine National Liberation Movement (Fatah) and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), the Communist Party and the Socialist People's Alliance Party of Egypt, and those from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Israel and Egypt. During the meetings, Quan briefed his hosts on Vietnam’s recent development, as well as the Vietnamese Party and State’s key policies, affirming that the country t reasures and hopes to strengthen friendship and all-around links with Palestine, Israel and Egypt. The guest and hosts discussed measures to promote relations between the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) and Fatah, political parties in the PLO, and those of Israel and Egypt. They agreed on orientations for fostering multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and the three countries. Leaders from the Middle Eastern countries spoke highly of the role played by the CPV, especially in initiating and leading Vietnam’s renewal process. They expressed their countries’ wishes to step up ties with the CPV. Palestinian PM Hamdallah said he appreciated the Vietnamese delegation’s highest-level visit to his country over the last decade, describing this as great political support for the Palestinian people. He concurred with ways to boost affiliation in all-level delegation exchanges, training and setting up a joint committee between Vietnam and Palestine, thus beefing up bilateral cooperation. Meanwhile, Egyptian PM Sherif Ismail underlined the need to expand economic and trade links, especially in agriculture, aquaculture, oil and gas, and tourism. Officials from Israel’s legislative body and Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed that Vietnam is the country’s leading partner in Southeast Asia, committing to bolstering relations with Vietnam in order to double two-way trade to 2 billion USD. The guest and hosts compared their notes on issues of common concern in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, including those related to complicated developments in the East Sea. They agreed that it is necessary to address disputes through peaceful negotiations, in line with the UN Charter and international law. During the stay, the Vietnamese delegation met with Deputy Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Bin Hali, and visited historical and cultural relic sites in the Middle East countries.-VNA