The host leader expressed his pleasure at the fine relations between Vietnam and Portugal while greeting Mr. Francisco Assis Morais Cunha Vazpatto, Portuguese Ambassador to Thailand and Vietnam. He cited the two-way trade turnovers having surged over the past years, reaching nearly US$ 400 million in 2015.
PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Portuguese Ambassador Francisco Assis Morais Cunha Vazpatto
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For his part, Ambassador Francisco Assis Morais Cunha Vazpatto expressed the honor to take mission in Vietnam. Portugal supports the EVFTA and promises to push for the early signing and realization of the document, he added. The Ambassador also hoped to soon host an artistic exhibition in Vietnam to consolidate cultural exchanges between the two countries.
PM Phuc called on Vietnam and Portugal to seek more solutions for lifting their bilateral trade from nearly US$400 million in 2015 to US$ 500 million by 2020. He also congratulated Portugal on former PM Antonio Guterres’s election as UN Secretary General for the five-year tenure, starting from January 1, 2017.
The Ambassador said Portugal supported the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement and will make further efforts for its signing and implementation. To boost its cultural exchanges with Vietnam, Portugal wants to organise an exhibition on Portuguese arts and other activities in the country in the coming time, he added.
At a reception for the Serbian Ambassador to Vietnam and Indonesia, the Vietnamese government leader urged the two countries to boost economics and trade ties in the near future. He suggested that both sides organize a Vietnam-Serbia Business Forum in Hanoi and HCM City to facilitate their enterprises and bolster bilateral cooperation.
The ambassador in turn pledged his best efforts to augment bilateral cooperation in economics, trade, investment and education, adding that he will help enhance connectivity between the two nations' enterprisesas numerous Serbian businesses are keen to look for investment opportunities in the Southeast Asian nation.
The PM and the ambassador shared the view that Vietnam and Portugal should enhance their collaboration in tourism, sports, and culture, thus promoting their economic and trade ties, as well as people-to-people exchange.
PM Phuc asserted that Vietnam always respects for and wants to cement and deepen the traditional ties and comprehensive cooperation with Serbia. He took the occasion to seek the Ambassador’s support to lift the bilateral trade to over US$ 500 million and suggest the two sides organize a business forum in Ha Noi or HCM City to boost cooperative opportunities. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc expressed the nation's desire to enhance economic and trade links while receiving Portuguese and Serbian ambassadors in Hanoi.
