Hanoi (VNA) – The upcoming visit of PresidentMaurico Macri to Vietnam is significant to Argentina due to the important roleof the Southeast Asian country in the current overall international relationsof Argentina, Argentine Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship Jorge Faurie hasstated.

In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency on thethreshold of the visit, the minister also stressed that Vietnam is an importantpartner of Argentina, especially in economy and trade.

The Vietnamese economy is supplementary to that ofArgentina, he said, noting that the two countries have shared sound trade tieswith high growth prospect, which reflects Vietnam’s progress, especially in therecent decade.

Vietnam has become an example for Argentina, especially inexport policy, one of the factors encouraging Argentine businesses to engageactively in producing and exporting their products, he said.

Vietnam and Argentina recently celebrated the 45th anniversary of their bilateral diplomatic relations, bringing a suitable timefor the important visit, said the minister. Meanwhile, in the recent meetingswith President Maurico Macri at international forums, Vietnamese Prime MinisterNguyen Xuan Phuc showed his hope to welcome the Argentine leader in Vietnam.

President Maurico Macri will pay a State visit to Vietnamfrom February 19-21, his first to the Southeast Asian country as a President.The leader once visited Vietnam as the Mayor of Buenos Aires.

The Argentine official further said that several months ago,at a meeting with him during his visit to Vietnam, the host Prime Ministerexpressed his hope to develop partnership with Argentina,underscoring that the two sides should bolster economic and trade cooperationto bring two-way trade from the current nearly 3 billion USD to 5 billion USDin 2020 or 2021, and nearly 10 billion USD in 2025.

To this end, the two sides should create favourableconditions for businesses of both sides to foster connection.

Therefore, in his visit, the Argentine leader will bringlocal enterprises in many strong sectors of Argentina, so that they can meetVietnamese peers to seek partnership.

“We have defined what areas that the two sides can team up,as well as products to focus on. But businesses and producers of the two sidesshould further foster their connection,” stated the diplomat.

With the current technology development, geographicaldistance is no longer an obstacle for Vietnam and Argentina to fosterconnectivity, he added.

Regarding his impression of Vietnam, Faurie said that hefirst visited Vietnam in 1996, and came back after 22 years. The changes ofHanoi as well as progress in production and the new mindset of locals surprisedthe official.

“I felt great changes of Hanoi and other big cities ofVietnam. The living conditions of Vietnamese people have significantly improvedcompared to two decades ago. The quality of products made by Vietnamese peoplehas been different from the past, and especially, the future-oriented mindsetof Vietnamese Government and people is admirable,” he said.

He stressed that Vietnam has shown the world its strongcapacity to rise, which is really admirable.-VNA