Determined to further increase bilateral trade volume.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Speaker of the Ivory Coast National Assembly Adama Bictogo agreed on measures to further deepen bilateral relations.

Việt Nam-Bờ Biển Ngà: Quyết tâm nâng cao hơn nữa kim ngạch thương mại song phương

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh receives the Speaker of the National Assembly of Ivory Coast, Adama Bictogo, who is on an official visit to Vietnam. (Source: VNA)

On the afternoon of June 14th, at the Government headquarters, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received the Speaker of the National Assembly of Ivory Coast, Adama Bictogo, during his official visit to Vietnam.

During the meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh welcomed the Speaker of the National Assembly and the Ivory Coast delegation on their first visit to Vietnam and expressed his confidence that the visit would be successful and contribute to opening new chapters in the relations between the two countries.

The Prime Minister congratulated the people of Ivory Coast on the achievements in political stability and socio-economic development attained under the leadership of President Alassane Ouattara.

On this occasion, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh briefed on the situation in Vietnam, its foreign policy, and especially on Vietnam's efforts to achieve the strategic goals set by the 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam. He also affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to promoting friendly cooperative relations with Ivory Coast, considering Ivory Coast as one of Vietnam's important partners in Africa.

For his part, the Speaker of the Ivory Coast National Assembly, Adama Bictogo, expressed his delight at visiting the beautiful country of Vietnam for the first time, and thanked Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the Vietnamese people for their warm, respectful, and sincere welcome.

Speaker of the National Assembly Adama Bictogo expressed his admiration for President Ho Chi Minh; and congratulated Vietnam on its continued impressive achievements in socio-economic development, which he described as a role model for Ivory Coast.

Highly appreciating Vietnam's role in the region and the world, especially within the framework of ASEAN and the United Nations, Speaker of the National Assembly Adama Bictogo affirmed that Ivory Coast considers Vietnam one of its important partners in ASEAN and wishes to strengthen multifaceted cooperation with Vietnam to maximize the great potential between the two countries.

In an open, sincere, and trusting atmosphere, the two sides had a comprehensive exchange on the socio-economic situation in each country, bilateral cooperation, and regional and international issues of common concern.

The two leaders highly appreciated the positive developments in bilateral relations, especially in the fields of political-diplomatic relations, economics, trade, culture, and education.

Even during the Covid-19 pandemic, the two countries maintained high-level contacts and strived to bring trade turnover to over $1 billion for the first time in 2021, affirming Ivory Coast's position as Vietnam's second largest trading partner in Africa. Both sides achieved encouraging initial cooperation results in the investment sector.

Emphasizing the significant potential for cooperation between Vietnam and Ivory Coast, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Speaker of the National Assembly Adama Bictogo agreed on measures to further deepen bilateral relations. They stressed the importance of increasing contacts and exchanges, especially at the high level, to strengthen political trust and create a solid foundation for promoting cooperation in various fields, particularly the economy. They also expressed their determination to further increase bilateral trade turnover through enhanced promotional activities, the exchange of business cooperation opportunities, and facilitating market expansion in each country, as well as in Africa and Asia.

Vietnam is ready to support Ivory Coast in strengthening its cooperative relations with ASEAN, and Ivory Coast is committed to supporting the promotion of Vietnam-Africa cooperation within the framework of the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Speaker of the Ivory Coast National Assembly Adama Bictogo agreed on measures to further deepen bilateral relations. (Source: VNA)

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh suggested that both sides need to ensure a balanced trade balance, diversify exchanged goods, increase exports of Vietnam's key products, and explore expanding cooperation into other potential areas; and study a tripartite cooperation model on agriculture between the two countries and an international organization. The Prime Minister thanked and requested that Ivory Coast continue to create favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community to live, work, and settle in Ivory Coast, contributing to the friendship between the two countries.

The Speaker of the Ivorian National Assembly expressed strong agreement with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's directions for promoting cooperation, and pledged to leverage the legislative body's role in supporting and facilitating enhanced cooperation between the two governments, especially in implementing the measures proposed by the Prime Minister.

Furthermore, the Speaker of the Ivorian National Assembly expressed a desire for Vietnam to share its development experience; proposed strengthening agricultural cooperation with Vietnam to contribute to ensuring sustainable food security for Ivory Coast; suggested that Vietnamese businesses increase investment and production in Ivory Coast; and expressed readiness to research and promote cooperation in the fields of education and training, healthcare, and people-to-people exchanges.

During the meeting, the two leaders agreed on the need to strengthen the legal framework for economic cooperation by enhancing the signing of the Framework Agreement on Cooperation as well as other important agreements on trade, investment promotion and protection, and avoiding double taxation.

Both sides affirmed their commitment to continued coordination and active mutual support in multilateral forums, especially the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement; sharing and supporting the position of resolving disputes, including the South China Sea issue, through peaceful means and on the basis of international law.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh respectfully requested the Speaker of the Ivorian Parliament to convey an invitation to the Prime Minister of Ivory Coast to visit Vietnam, and also thanked him for the invitation. The visit will be arranged at a suitable time through diplomatic channels.

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