Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese Ambassador toArgentina Dang Xuan Dung expressed his belief in the bright prospects of thetwo countries’ relations in an interview with the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) on theoccasion of the 45th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic ties(October 25, 1973 – 2018).

Since Vietnam and Argentina set up diplomatic relationsin 1973, the two nations have made substantial steps towards developing their tieson the foundation of a parallel history, common interests and mutual trust andunderstanding, Dung told the VNA.

The first brick of the long-standing relations was laid throughthe support of Argentina for Vietnam’s struggle for independence and reunificationin the 1970s, he said. In January 1995, Vietnam opened an embassy in BuenosAires, and two years later, the Embassy of Argentina was opened in Hanoi in thepresence of Argentine President Carlos Menem, he noted.

The two countries lifted their ties to the level of comprehensivepartnership in October 2010.

Today, cooperation between Vietnam and Argentina in theinter-governmental cooperation committee, political consultations between thetwo ministries of foreign affairs, exchanges of visits and more has beentranslated into expanded partnerships in most areas, from politics, economics,trade to science and technology, education and culture, the ambassador said.

Furthermore, the two sides have backed each other atinternational and multilateral forums, including the United Nations (UN), theWorld Trade Organisation (WTO), and the Forum of East Asia – Latin AmericaCooperation (FEALAC). They have forged collaboration in education and technicalcapacity building; held a number of experience sharing forums; and togethercarried out projects in agriculture, biotechnology, anthropology and genetics,including one to identify the remains of Vietnamese soldiers who went missingin action, according to the diplomat.

Dung also expressed delight at the remarkable progress ofthe two countries’ trade and economic relations in recent years. In 2017,two-way trade exceeded 3.03 billion USD, of which Vietnam’s exports toArgentina hit 482 million USD, up 32.4 percent from 2016. Argentina is nowVietnam’s second largest trade partner in Latin America while Vietnam isArgentina’s second biggest market in Asia and fourth largest in the world.

Vietnam mostly ships to Argentina footwear andaccessories, rubber and rubber products, electronics, clothing and agriculturalmachines while importing soybeans, maize, wheat, cattle feed and pharmaceuticalproducts.

He said he is happy to see Vietnamese enterprises haveshown greater interest in the Argentine market and did everything possible toaccess partners via direct contacts or through the Embassy of Vietnam.

The ambassador suggested the two sides expand cooperationin investment, energy, agriculture, telecommunications, education and tourism.

To make this happen, Vietnam and Argentina need toimprove the legal framework for their partnership through bilateral agreements.They must make the most of the inter-governmental cooperation committee, withthe next meeting to be held on October 25 – 26. The meeting is expected toreview and address issues that hinder the two countries’ cooperation.

He added that the two nations must also promote eachcountry’s nature and people, update firms of each side on the other’s market,regulations and business climate, provide the firms with broader market accessand promote investment, tourism and people-to-people diplomacy.

He said if these tasks are performed well, the Vietnam –Argentina partnership would thrive further and soon reach the level ofstrategic ties as expected, bringing benefits to both governments and peoples.–VNA