Hanoi (VNA) – Party General Secretary and State President To Lam and his spouse hosted an official welcome ceremony for visiting Mozambican President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi and his spouse in Hanoi on September 9 morning.

Following the ceremony, the two leaders held talks, during which the two sides reviewed bilateral cooperation over the past time and sketched out orientations for the time ahead.

They will also witness the signing of cooperation documents on this occasion.

This three-day trip marks President Nyusi's first visit to Vietnam since taking office and also the first by a Mozambican president to the Southeast Asian nation in over 17 years.

Taking place in the context that Vietnam and Mozambique will celebrate the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations next year, the visit aims to strengthen cooperation in traditional areas while expanding it to new ones such as telecommunications, energy and minerals, fisheries, and digital transformation.

During the visit, President Nyusi is also scheduled to tour several businesses, educational and cultural establishments, and historical sites.

Vietnam and Mozambique established diplomatic relations on June 25, 1975. Over the recent years, the exchange of delegations between the two countries have been intensified and their cooperation mechanisms like the Intergovernmental Committee and political consultation maintained, laying a foundation for promoting comprehensive cooperation. Both sides have actively coordinated and supported each other at multilateral forums.

Regarding trade and investment, Vietnam raked in 127 million USD from exports to Mozambique last year, with main items being fertilisers, garments, and farming equipment. Imports from Mozambique totaled nearly 420 million USD, with key products being coal and cashew nuts.

Vietnamese businesses' investment in Mozambique is a bright spot in economic cooperation between the two nations, notably the success of Movitel - a joint venture between Vietnam’s Viettel Group and Mozambique’s SPI company - that was established in 2012 with an investment of over 600 million USD. It is now one of the top three contributors to Mozambique's national budget, providing diverse telecommunications and IT services.

In addition, the two countries successfully implemented several agricultural projects, notably the first phase of a project on cooperation in research and development of food crops in Mozambique during 2013-2017, with potential for a second phase in the time to come.

♒ Currently, the Vietnamese community in Mozambique consists of approximately 200, mainly managers and employees working at Movitel. The remainders are education and healthcare experts./.