Addis Ababa (VNA) – During theirtalks in Addis Ababa on August 23, President of Ethiopia Mulatu Teshomedescribed the State visit to his country by President Tran Dai Quang as aparticularly important political event.

The host said President Quang is the first headof State of Vietnam to visit Ethiopia since the two countries set up diplomaticties in 1976. He expressed his belief that the visit will create a new momentumfor bilateral relations in the time ahead.

President Quang congratulated Ethiopia on itsimpressive strides which have turned the country into an example of economicdevelopment in Africa with an average growth rate of 10 percent over the pastdecade, considerably improving its people’s living standards and opening upmany prospects for cooperation with various countries around the world,including Vietnam.

He highly valued Ethiopia’s role and activecontributions as a member of the African Union and the United Nations, includingpeacekeeping activities, to help ensure security and stability in the regionand the world over.

President Teshome said the Ethiopian people andhimself always admire the Vietnamese people for the latter’s struggle fornational independence in the past and development achievements at present.

He noted that he is impressed with Vietnam’sbecoming an economy with fast and stable economic growth and a leading exporterof agricultural products in the world. He hopes the Southeast Asian nation willshare experience in economic development, especially in the fields it isexperienced in like agriculture and aquaculture.

The two sides said Vietnam and Ethiopia have afine traditional friendship – an important basis for promoting economic, tradeand investment ties. They agreed to provide favourable conditions for thecountries’ enterprises to invest and do business in each other’s markets,specify suitable payment measures to support businesses, and increase marketsurvey and share policy information. They will also consider appointinghonorary consuls to create more connection channels and tap into economicpartnership opportunities in a timely manner.

The Presidents agreed to step up delegationexchanges at all levels, cooperation between the two countries’ parliaments andlocalities, as well as people-to-people, cultural and sports exchanges to boostmutual understanding.

On this occasion, President Quang invited hiscounterpart to visit Vietnam. The host accepted the invitation with pleasure.

At the end of the talks, the leaders witnessedthe signing of cooperation documents, including a memorandum of understanding(MoU) on investment cooperation between the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning andInvestment and the Ethiopian Investment Commission, an agreement on visaexemption for diplomatic and official passport holders and an MoU oncooperation between the two ministries of foreign affairs.

[Infographics: Vietnam – Ethiopia relations]

Subsequently, the two Presidents held a pressmeeting to announce the talks’ outcomes.

The Vietnamese leader voiced his belief that hisvisit will be an important milestone in bringing bilateral cooperation to a newstage and in line with the sound traditional friendship.

The Presidents told the media that theydiscussed all aspects of cooperation and reached high consensus on measures toenhance political tied and expand connections in economy, agriculture,telecommunications, aviation, culture and tourism. They considered economicpartnership as the foundation for developing bilateral cooperation in asubstantive fashion.

Vietnam and Ethiopia are determined to continuesupporting each other to reach development targets for the sake of commonprogress and prosperity in Asia and Africa. They will also maintain mutualsupport within the framework of the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movementand the South-South Cooperation, President Quang said.

He added the countries also share the view onthe need to peacefully solve disputes and comply with international law.

The Vietnamese leader also noted that with thecountries’ resolve to raise bilateral trade, Vietnam can export agriculturalproducts, tea, coffee, rubber, electronic products, building materials andvehicles to Ethiopia, and share experience and cooperate with the Africannation in rice production and export. He also pledged to facilitate the twobusiness communities’ promotion of trade and investment, participation infairs, and information exchange.

For his part, President Teshome said to bolstermutual understanding, the two countries should strengthen political trust at a highlevel and connections at all levels. He also emphasised the importance of peaceand security for the prosperity of all nations.

Ethiopia and Vietnam boast huge cooperationpotential in various spheres, particularly trade, investment, food processingand infrastructure development, he said, affirming that his country is ready tocreate the best conditions for Vietnamese firms to access its market to seekinvestment and business chances. It is also willing to intensify collaboration ineducation, agriculture and aviation.

The leaders agreed to consider opening a directair route to facilitate travel, exchange and trade between the two countries.

Later the same day, President Teshome and hisspouse hosted a banquet in honour of President Quang, his spouse and theVietnamese delegation.-VNA