Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Chile Francisco Pérez Mackenna. (Photo: VNA)

At the invitation of Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Chile Francisco Pérez Mackenna is paying an official visit to Vietnam from August 23 to 25.

Welcoming Minister Mackenna to Vietnam, Minister Le Hoai Trung spoke highly of his official visit, saying it demonstrates the Chilean Government’s determination to promote the Vietnam-Chile Comprehensive Partnership as the two countries celebrate the 55th anniversary of their diplomatic relations (March 25, 1971-March 25, 2026).

Minister Le Hoai Trung affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to strengthening relations with Chile, the first South American country to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam on March 25, 1971, and a key partner of Vietnam in the Latin American region.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung assessed that the Vietnam-Chile Comprehensive Partnership has developed positively in recent years, particularly in the economic and trade sectors. Chile is Vietnam’s third-largest export market in Latin America, while Vietnam is Chile’s largest trading partner in ASEAN.

Minister Le Hoai Trung expressed his hope that the two sides would further deepen political relations, enhance mutual trust, and expand substantive cooperation in areas of mutual interest on the basis of mutual benefit and shared development, while complementing and supporting each other in the new context.

In this spirit, Minister Le Hoai Trung proposed that the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs continue to play their coordinating role in bilateral relations on important issues, including increasing exchanges of delegations at all levels, particularly high-level delegations; strengthening relations between the two National Assemblies, political parties, and socio-political organizations, considering these relations a solid foundation for consolidating and developing bilateral ties; and coordinating to organize at an early date the eighth Political Consultation between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs and the sixth session of the Free Trade Council.

The two sides also agreed to promote business connectivity and expand cooperation and investment in areas with significant untapped potential, including mining, green transition, the digital economy, finance and banking, culture and education, science and technology, and security and defense, among others. They also agreed to promote new cooperation agreements to create a legal framework for strengthening the Comprehensive Partnership between the two countries.

Chilean Foreign Minister Mackenna expressed his admiration for Vietnam’s achievements in national construction and development. Minister Mackenna affirmed that the Chilean Government always attaches importance to and wishes to strengthen relations with Vietnam as part of its overall policy toward the Asia-Pacific region, particularly as Vietnam and Chile have signed a bilateral free trade agreement and are both members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), with many commonalities across various areas.

Minister Mackenna agreed with the proposals put forward by the Vietnamese side and affirmed that the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs would continue to closely coordinate with the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help make Vietnam-Chile relations more substantive and effective in the coming period.

The Chilean Foreign Minister expressed his desire for the two sides to strengthen economic, trade, and investment ties, particularly amid the current volatile situation; open their markets to each other’s agricultural products; and expand cooperation in technology, renewable energy, and essential strategic minerals.

Exchanging views on international and regional issues of mutual concern, the two ministers agreed to strengthen cooperation at international organizations and multilateral forums, particularly the United Nations.

55 Years of Vietnam-Chile Relations: Journey Built on Trust and Empathy On March 25 in Hanoi, the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations, the Vietnam-Chile Friendship and Cooperation Association, in coordination with the Embassy of Chile in Vietnam, held a friendship meeting to mark the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Chile (March 25, 1971 - March 25, 2026).

Da Nang Promotes Connections with Localities and Businesses in Chile At the ceremony commemorating the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Chile, leaders of Da Nang City called on the Embassy, trade promotion agencies, and Chilean businesses to strengthen connections with the city’s localities, organizations, and enterprises. They emphasized the importance of fostering cooperation in areas where both sides share strengths and mutual interests.