Nation turns on the charm

Bolivia’s Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera last week visited Vietnam. “The visit marks an important milestone generating a new impetus for strengthening the two countries’ relationship,” said Vietnam’s Vice State President Nguyen Thi Doan, who invited Linera to the South East Asia country.

Linera, who said his visit was to lift the two countries’ bilateral relationship to a new height and create a bilateral trade promotion mechanism, met with State President Truong Tan Sang and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, and held talks with Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan. The Vietnamese side proposed Bolivia soon recognise Vietnam as having a market economy. Linera said Bolivia would “seriously and positively” consider this proposal.

The two countries’ ministries of Foreign Affairs inked an agreement on visa exemption for diplomatic and official passport bearers and a memorandum of understanding on establishing a political reference mechanism. Linera and the Vietnamese leaders agreed on the establishment of a joint committee in charge of boosting the two countries’ economic, trade and investment cooperation. They also pledged to soon negotiate and ink agreements on trade, investment and double taxation avoidance.

Premier Dung said the two sides needed to frequently exchange high-level visits to establish a direct partnership particularly in the fields of trade, industry, agriculture, consumption goods production, and science and technology. While asking Vietnam to share its experience in poverty reduction and socio-economic development, Linera said Bolivia would like to actively combine with Vietnam in international and regional forums, including the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC), inaugurated in March 2003 in Chile.

In related news, during Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni’s official head-of-state visit to Vietnam last week, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung told Sihamoni that Vietnam would continue to enrich its relationship with Cambodia.

While meeting with the king, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung and State President Truong Tan Sang all underlined that Vietnam would continue to attach great importance to its traditional relationship with Cambodia and Vietnam would do its utmost to nurse this relationship in all fields.