Hanoi (VNA) – Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung and a delegation ofthe Vietnamese Government paid a visit to Norway from October 30 to November 2at the invitation of the Norwegian Government.

Duringthe visit, Deputy PM Dung had working sessions with Norway’s Foreign MinisterIne Eriksen Soreide, Minister of Trade and Industry Torbjorn Roe Isaksen, andMinister of International Development Nicolas Astrup.

Healso met with leaders of Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global and the Confederationof Norwegian Enterprise.

Atthe meetings, the Norwegian leaders conveyed their deep sympathies over thedeath of President Tran Dai Quang and congratulating Vietnam on electingGeneral Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong as the newPresident.

Thetwo sides lauded the sound friendship and multifaceted cooperation betweenVietnam and Norway over the years with the regular exchange of delegations andmeetings.

Theyspoke highly of the outcomes of the meeting between Prime Minister Nguyen XuanPhuc and his Norwegian counterpart Erna Solberg on the sidelines of the 12th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit in October this year.

Theyagreed that the two countries boast huge potential cooperation, stressing theneed for stronger affiliation in the spheres of oil and gas, shipbuilding,maritime transport, culture, education, and tourism.

Atthe meeting with Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soreide, Deputy PM Dung expressedhis hope that Norway will have a stronger voice to support the settlement ofdisputes in the East Sea through peaceful measures in line with internationallaw. The two sides concurred to continue supporting each other at multilateralforums and the United Nations.

Atthe meetings with Minister of Trade and Industry Torbjorn Roe Isaksen andMinister of International Development Nicolas Astrup, both sides recognised thegrowth in bilateral economic cooperation with two-way trade in recent years reachingover 350 million USD per year.

Norwaycurrently has 40 projects in Vietnam with a total investment of over 160million USD, ranking 41st out of 129 foreign investors in the Southeast Asiancountry.

DeputyPM Dung suggested Norway help speed up the signing and ratification of the EuropeanUnion-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

Meetingwith leaders of Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global and the Confederationof Norwegian Enterprise, Deputy PM Dung underscored that Norway is an importantpartner of Vietnam. He highlighted many investment opportunities in Vietnam asa result of the equitisation of State-owned enterprises.

Hepledged that Vietnam will create a favourable investment and businessenvironment for foreign firms, including those from Norway, to invest and dobusiness equally in the country.

TheDeputy PM proposed that Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global and the Confederationof Norwegian Enterprise send business delegations to Vietnam to further explorethe market. Currently, the 1 trillion USD fund is investing in a number of bigfirms in Vietnam, including Vinamilk, MBank, and Hoa Phat Group.

Representativesof Norwegian firms showed interest in cooperation and investment opportunitiesin Vietnam, listing the country as one of the top newly-emerged markets.

Theyexpressed hope that the Government of Vietnam will continue reforming the institutionaland legal system, while also simplifying procedures for imports, and supportingNorwegian firms to invest particularly in shipbuilding, oil and gas,aquaculture, hydropower, wind power, and pharmaceuticals.

Duringthe visit, Deputy PM Dung also had a meeting with officials of the Vietnameseembassy and the Vietnamese community in the country.–VNA