Party General Secretary and President of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong (R) shakes hands with President of Argentina Mauricio Macri before their talks in Hanoi on February 20. (Photo: NDO/Duy Linh)

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They made the agreement at talks which followed an official welcome ceremony for the Argentine leader in Hanoi on February 20.

General Secretary and President Trong welcomed his guest’s first State visit to Vietnam as President of Argentina. He congratulated Argentina on its recent achievements that have helped consolidate its position as the third biggest economy in Latin America and a member of the G20.

He affirmed that Vietnam always sees Argentina as a leading Latin American partner and wants to enhance the bilateral comprehensive partnership, especially in economics, trade and investment.

The host also took this chance to thank the Argentine Government and people for their solidarity with and precious support for Vietnam during the struggle for national liberation in the past and its development efforts at present.

President Macri spoke highly of Vietnam’s reform accomplishments over the last three decades, reiterating that his country is determined to strengthen the bilateral friendship and cooperation in order to contribute to each side’s development.

At the talks, the two leaders informed each other of their respective countries’ situations and discussed measures to continue enhancing the comprehensive partnership in a substantive manner. They also exchanged views on regional and international issues of shared concern.

They agreed to maintain high-level meetings and mutual visits at all levels and increase relations between the countries’ parliaments, parties and people.

They highly valued the Vietnam-Argentina Inter-Governmental Committee and the political consultation between the two foreign ministries, agreeing to continue bringing these mechanisms into play.

Vietnam and Argentina will promote negotiations on agreements in different fields and work to create a long-term legal framework for bilateral ties, the leaders said.

 Highlighting economic links, the Presidents noted that bilateral trade reached US$ 2.9 billion in 2018, doubling the figure five years ago. They agreed to further diversify trade to ensure more balanced interests, increase the trading of products with higher added value, and boost cooperation between animal and plant quarantine agencies.

The leaders also vowed to facilitate dialogue and cooperation between the two business communities through business forums and trade and investment promotion activities.

They welcomed the opening of the Vietnamese and Argentine markets to some of each other’s fruits, noting that the two sides will continue discussing the access of their strong products to each other’s markets.