Algiers (VNA)– The upcoming Vietnamese visit of Algerian Foreign Minister AbdelkaderMessahel is one of the important activities helping to intensify all-round cooperationbetween Vietnam and Algeria, marking a new step forward in promoting thebilateral partnership, stated Vietnamese Ambassador to Algeria Pham Quoc Tru.

In an interview withVietnamese correspondents in Algeria, the diplomat said that this is the firstofficial visit to Vietnam of an Algerian FM since 2000.

As scheduled, MinisterAbdelkader Messahel will meet a number of high-ranking Vietnamese leaders, andhold talks with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh toupdate each other on their countries’ policies and discuss international andregional issues of mutual concern, as well as measures to develop the partnershipbetween the two countries and their ministries.

Commenting on theVietnam-Algeria relationship, Ambassador Tru said that over the years, thebilateral cooperation has seen significant progress in a number of areas.

The two sides havesigned 12 treaties and nearly 20 agreements, protocols, and memoranda ofunderstanding on affiliation in the fields of diplomacy, economy and trade, scienceand technology, culture, sports, tourism, justice, post-telecommunications,animal and plant quarantine, animal health, maritime transportation, education,vocational training, finance, agriculture, and small- and medium-sizeenterprises.

The bilateral Inter-GovernmentalCommittee has been formed, meeting every two years to coordinate and promotecooperation in various fields, said Ambassador Tru, adding that during its 11thmeeting, the two sides agreed on many specific measures to further bolsterbilateral collaboration.

Regarding politics anddiplomacy, Vietnam and Algeria have set up and maintained the periodic politicalconsultation mechanism at deputy foreign ministerial level. The consultationshave contributed to deepening mutual understanding and coordination atinternational forums, while strengthening bilateral partnership, he said.

Tru noted that Vietnamand Algeria have applied visa exemptions on citizens of each other’s nations,while establishing friendship parliamentarian groups and friendship associationswith diverse activities to foster people-to-people exchange.

In terms of economy,Vietnam and Algeria have cooperated in an oil and gas joint-venture project inthe latter’s Bir Seba. The firm started commercial exploitation in 2015 with acapacity of 20,000 barrels per day. Currently, it is in its second phase,increasing the capacity to 40,000 barrels per day by late 2019 and early 2020.This is one of the examples of effective investment projects of Vietnamoverseas, said the diplomat.

He highlighted thattrade between the two countries has increased sharply in recent years.Vietnam’s exports to Algeria rose to 281 million USD in 2017 from 233 millionUSD in 2015, making Algeria its third largest export market in Africa.

Currently, about 5,000Vietnamese labourers are working in Algeria, mostly on construction sites.

Evaluating the futureoutlook of the Vietnam-Algeria partnership, Tru said that with each side’ssubstantial potential, sound political relations, and determination of their leaders,the bilateral multi-faceted collaboration will thrive, especially in economyand trade, and labour.

However, theambassador also pointed out some difficulties and challenges facing thebilateral cooperation, particularly in economic and labour affiliations such asthe shortcomings in legal framework as Algeria has yet to become a member ofthe World Trade Organisation.

Algeria’s measures toban and minimise imports have caused difficulties for Vietnam’s exports, heunderlined, adding that the trade agreement signed between the two countries in1994 has almost no practical semblance in bilateral trade development, saidTru.

Besides this, the currentbilateral legal framework also lacks the necessary policies to encourage andprotect the investment and business activities of enterprises, along with ashortage of information and understanding of relevant agencies and businesscommunities of both sides on each other’s markets and promising partners.

Meanwhile, the twoStates have yet to invest adequate resources to support bilateral cooperationprogrammes and projects, the ambassador noted. -VNA