During the trip, Ngoc paid a courtesy visit to Brazilian Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes Ferreira, held talks with his counterpart Georges Lamaziere, and worked with leaders of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Supply.

At the meetings and talks, both sides affirmed that the political consultation mechanism is an important activity that should be maintained and organized regularly to seek measures to develop bilateral relations practically and effectively.

Deputy Minister Ha Kim Ngoc

They shared a view that cooperative ties have grown positively with two-way trade exceeding USD 3 billions in 2016, up 30 percent compared with the figure in 2013. However, economic and investment cooperation remains modest, failing to match the two countries’ potential, especially in the fields of agriculture, manufacturing and processing industries, energy and clean fuels, bio-technology, aviation and infrastructure construction.

The two sides agreed to continue increasing the exchange of delegations at all levels. The Brazilian Foreign Minister plans to visit Vietnam late this year to tighten bilateral relations and speed up the signing of several agreements, including an agreement on investment protection and encouragement, a deal on double taxation avoidance, and cooperation documents related to agriculture, education, maritime shipping and tourism.

They stressed the need for the two Governments to create favorable conditions for their business communities to gain access to each other’s market.

Regarding the multilateral cooperation, both sides highly valued close coordination at international organizations and multilateral forums, especially at the United Nations and its subordinate agencies, and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The officials also exchanged opinions on regional and international issues of mutual concern, affirming that Vietnam and Brazil support each other in increasing cooperation in Southeast Asia and Latin America.

They affirmed their stance on backing the settlement of sovereign disputes through dialogues and by peaceful means and observing international law, especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982./.

( VNF/VNA )