Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamand Timor-Leste have agreed on the need to further promote bilateralcooperation in promising areas such as trade-investment, education, agriculture,and fisheries.

The agreement was reachedduring the talks between Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham BinhMinh and Timor-Leste’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation DionisioBabo Soares in Hanoi on June 10.

The Timor Lester minister is on an official visit to Vietnam from June 9-11.

Minh lauded achievements thatTimor-Leste has made during national construction and internationalintegration, expressing his hope that the country will become more prosperouswith stronger voice and position in the region and the world.

Dionisio Babo Soares congratulatedVietnam on winning the non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council with a recordnumber of votes, which shows the international community’s recognition ofVietnam’s contributions to peace, stability, cooperation and development in theregion and the world.

The two sides shared delightat the progress of bilateral ties since the two countries set up diplomaticrelations in 2002.

They concurred to continue theexchange of delegations at all levels, soon sign an agreement on visa exemptionfor diplomatic and official passport holders, and launch the Joint Committee onBilateral Cooperation to create a forum for ministries and sectors of bothsides to seek measures for stronger affiliation.

The two sides will sign newbilateral deals and extend the existing ones to make a legal framework forcooperation, including those on mutual legal assistance, investmentencouragement and protection, bilateral trade cooperation, and a memorandum of understandingon education collaboration.

Both sides agreed to furtherpromote economic-trade cooperation, especially by encouraging and backingbusinesses to seek cooperation opportunities in each other’s market.

Dionisio Babo Soares laudedthe Military Industry Telecoms Group Viettel of Vietnam to effectively operatein the country, becoming the second mobile service supplier in Timor-Leste.

He expressed his hope thatmore Vietnamese investors will enter the Timor-Leste market, especially inconstruction materials, garment, footwear, electronics, and dairy production.

The two sides definedagriculture, seafood, and oil and gas as having a lot of potential to becomekey areas in the bilateral cooperation in the future.

Vietnam is willing to providetechnical support for Timor-Leste and send experts to the country to help inpersonnel training, while sharing experience in coping with illegal, unreportedand unregulated fishing, said Minh.

Vietnam and Timor-Lesteagreed to coordinate closely with each other at international and regionalforums, especially within the UN.

Regarding Timor-Leste’s wishto join ASEAN, Minh pledged that Vietnam and other ASEAN countries willconsider the idea and give technical support to Timor-Leste, so that the countrywill meet the grouping’s membership criteria.

The same day, Prime MinisterNguyen Xuan Phuc hosted a reception for the Timor-Leste official.-VNA