Vietnam, Venezuela look toward more effective cooperation

Hanoi (VNA) - State President Nguyen Minh Triet is to pay an official visit
to Venezuela from Nov. 19-20 at the invitation of his counterpart Hugo
Chavez Frias, with the aim of boosting friendship and cooperation between
the two countries.

This will be the first visit to Venezuela by a Vietnamese State
leader.

The visit also aims to actualise several previously-reached agreements by
the two countries' leaders and implement a number of cooperation projects in
areas where both sides have demands. During the course of the visit, the two
leaders plan to sign documents completing a legal framework for bilateral
cooperation, and making multifaceted cooperation more practical and
efficient.

Vietnam and Venezuela established diplomatic ties in December 1989.
Since then, the levels of friendship and cooperation between the two
countries have undergone a process of active development.

The two sides increased their number of meetings and high-level exchanges,
including the visit to Venezuela by Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh
from May 30-June 1, 2007, and the visit to Vietnam by President Hugo
Chavez from July 31-August 1, 2006. During the former's visit, the two
countries issued a high-level declaration affirming their intention to
establish a comprehensive partnership.

This year, the two countries conducted the first session of their Joint
Governmental Commission in August to implement agreements between the two
countries, define their areas of cooperation and discuss a series of
practical projects, particularly in the fields of energy, oil and gas,
industry, agriculture, as well as creating a legal framework for bilateral
cooperation.

The two sides signed several agreements and cooperation documents, including
a framework agreement on cooperation between the two governments, plus other
documents governing cooperation in matters relating to culture and energy,
the establishment of joint governmental commissions on ideology, national
defence and the economy, visa exemptions for diplomatic and official
passport holders and the adoption of a mechanism for political reference
between the two foreign ministries.

Also in August, the two sides signed agreements on cooperation in tourism
and agriculture, and a schedule of cultural exchanges between 2008-2010, as
well as memorandums of understanding regarding cooperation in numerous
fields. They also discussed the signing of a number of gas and oil contracts
worth billions of USD.

Trade exchange between the two countries has been fairly modest, given the
potential for trade between the nations. Two-way trade reached 11.7 million
USD in 2007 and 10.1 million USD during the first six months of 2008, of
which Vietnam gained a trade surplus.-Enditem