Hanoi (VNA) - President Tran Dai Quang and his spouse begin a three-dayState visit to Bangladesh from March 4-6 at the invitation of Bangladeshi PresidentMohammad Abdul Hamid.

Vietnam and Bangladesh officially established diplomatic relations 45years ago (February 11, 1973). Since then, the two nations have maintainedtheir traditional friendship and fine cooperation, and have seen important developmentsteps in both politics and economy.

Vietnam has always attached importance to and wanted to further developits friendly and cooperative relations with Bangladesh. The two countries havestood side by side and supported each other in the process of nationalconstruction, sovereignty safeguarding and economic development in each nation.

President Tran Dai Quang’s visit affirms Vietnam’s consistent foreign policyof independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation and diversification ofinternational relations, including attaching importance to strengthening bilateralties with Bangladesh.

The visit is also expected to boost two-way trade in the near future.With a lot of cooperation potential in the fields of agriculture,garment-textiles and electronics, Vietnam and Bangladesh is striving to lift bilateraltrade value to 1 billion USD in the coming time.

President Tran Dai Quang is being accompanied by Deputy Prime Ministerand Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, Head of the Presidential Office Dao VietTrung, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, and Minister ofAgriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong, among others.-VNA