Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and hisBelarusian counterpart Roman Golovchenko held talks in Hanoi on December 8, agreeingto expand their countries’ cooperation to potential areas.

Welcoming his guest, PM Chinh said the official visit fromDecember 6 to 9, the first trip to Vietnam by a Belarusian Government leader in12 years, will create a new impetus for bilateral relations in all spheres.

He affirmed that the Government and people of Vietnam attach major importance to the two countries’ traditional friendship, which has beennurtured by many generations, especially the visits to the Eastern Europeancountry by President Ho Chi Minh in the past.

Highly valuing Vietnam’s socioeconomic achievements, PM Golovchenkosaid his country treasures the traditional friendship and views Vietnam as apriority partner in Southeast Asia.

Thetwo leaders shared the view on the importance of maintaining meetings at alllevels, via all channels, and between their countries’ ministries, sectors, andlocalities, and on the need to bring into play existing cooperation mechanisms.They agreed to continue close coordination and mutual support at multilateralforums, especially the United Nations.

Vietnam is ready to serve as a bridge helping Belarus enhancecooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the host said,calling on Belarus to support Vietnam and ASEAN’s stance on the East Sea issue.

Both sides spoke highly of the progress in economic, trade, and investmentpartnerships, including the implementation of the free trade agreement betweenVietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), of which Belarus is a member. Theyheld that the two countries should further tap into their cooperationpotential.

PM Chinh lauded the outcomes of the Vietnam - Belarus business forum held in HoChi Minh City on December 7 that gathered over 100 companies from bothcountries.

He expressed his delight that the 15 million-USD MAZ automobile manufacturingand assembly plant project of Belarus in northern Hung Yen province is operatingfruitfully. He also applauded the consideration of production joint ventures inboth Vietnam and Belarus in the sectors matching their potential and demand.

Thetwo countries will make efforts to promote bilateral trade and createconditions for their goods, including agricultural and aquatic products, dairyproducts, fertiliser, and machinery, to access each other’s markets, theleaders said.

They also agreed to expand cooperation to such potential areasas information technology, digital transformation, education - training,scientific research, culture, tourism, and people-to-people exchange. They highlyvalued the signing of a cooperation deal between Hanoi and Minsk during thevisit, along with the signing of an inter-governmental agreement on educationalcooperation last June, which will help increase the exchange of students,lecturers, and experts in the fields the countries have demand for.

Both PMs also voiced their hope that the agreement on bilateral visa exemption forordinary passport holders, signed during the visit, and the cultural cooperationprogramme for 2023 - 2025, inked in May this year, will help tightenconnections in terms of tourism, culture, and people-to-people exchange.

PM Chinh took this occasion to thank leaders and the Governmentof Belarus for paying attention to the Vietnamese community in the country,asking the Belarusian Government to continue providing favourable conditionsfor Vietnamese people to live, work, and study there.

Following the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of some bilateralcooperation documents, namely an agreement on the transfer of sentenced persons,an agreement on visa exemption for ordinary passport holders, a memorandum ofunderstanding on cooperation and information sharing in the field of nuclearsafety and radiation protection, and a cooperation deal on the officialdissemination of Vietnam’s national standards in Belarus./.