Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro Moros will pay an official visit to Vietnam from August 30 to September 1 to foster bilateral relations between the two nations. The visit, which is made at the invitation of President Truong Tan Sang, marks Nicolas Maduro Moros’s first visit to Vietnam since he took office in April 2013. Vietnam and Venezuela set up diplomatic ties in December 1989. Since then, the two countries have continuously consolidated their friendship and collaboration via growing contacts and all-level delegation exchanges. They have reached agreements on joint projects on petroleum and oil exploration, construction, solar energy, public lighting, and culture during the meetings of their Inter-governmental Committee. Last March, during Venezuelan Vice President Elias Jose Jauna Milano’s visit to Vietnam and the third meeting of the Vietnam - Venezuela Inter-governmental Committee, the two sides agreed to continue boosting cooperation in energy, oil and gas, and agriculture as well as increase Vietnam ’s investment in Venezuela in manufacturing and assembling industry, electronics, and construction. So far, a wide range of agreements have been inked between the two governments and their sectors, including those on visa exemption for diplomatic passport holders, cooperation in science-technology, energy, education, culture, tourism, and agriculture. The two sides have always supported each other at international forums and organizations. Venezuela backed Vietnam in its bids to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO), become a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (2008-2009) and a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council (2014 – 2016). Two-way trade between Vietnam and Venezuela has continuously increased in recent years, hitting 62.7 million USD last year, with the former enjoying a trade surplus of 57.3 million USD. Vietnam exports mainly garments and textiles, footwear, telephone and spare parts, electricity and electronic devices, food and foodstuff to Venezuela while importing garment and footwear materials, rubber, equipment and spare parts from this market. As of April 2015, Vietnam poured 1.8 billion USD into its projects in Venezuela, making the Latin American country among its top investment destinations, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Foreign Investment Agency.-VNA