(MPI) - On the occasion of Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s official visit to Qatar from October 30 to November 1, marking the first official visit by a Prime Minister of Vietnam to the Middle Eastern country in 15 years, the two sides have issued a joint communiqué.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani. Photo: VGP

Vietnam and Qatar noted with satisfaction the achievements of their 30-year bilateral relationship that has been flourishing and expanding across multiple areas. The two sides pledged to promoting the exchange of delegations and contacts at all levels and through various channels, and strengthen people-to-people ties, to further advance the excellent cooperation between Vietnam and Qatar.

With a shared vision to further deepen the political trust and elevate Vietnam - Qatar relations to a more profound and advanced level, the two sides agreed to work towards upgrading bilateral relations to a more involved, concrete and effective partnership.

The sides consider negotiating bilateral agreements on the areas of, among others, visa exemption, labour, economic and trade to expand their market access.

They emphasized the importance of economic, trade, and investment cooperation and recognized the significant potential for collaboration in other sectors such as energy, oil and gas, especially liquefied natural gas (LNG), agriculture, Halal industry, and banking.

The two sides agreed to strengthen trade and investment activities, with an aim to attract more investment from Qatari funds to strategic investment projects in Vietmam enhance business connections, and support investors from both sides.

Both sides pledged to enhance defense and security cooperation and maintain an environment of cooperation and peace in the two regions and the world.

Vietnam and Qatar recognized the importance of promoting education and training, tourism, and cultural and sports exchange to strengthen people-to-people connections and deepen mutual understanding. Both sides agreed to increase scholarships for each other’s students.

In addition, both sides agreed to explore cooperation opportunities in emerging sectors, such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, clean energy, solar energy, digital transformation, innovative governance, green and circular economy, among others.

During the visit, the two sides signed five bilateral agreements and MOUs to enhance cooperation, and exchanged views on international and regional issues of mutual interest and underscored the importance of upholding international law and the United Nations Charter, advocating the resolution of disputes by diplomatic means to maintain peace, stability, and security and promote development at regional and global levels./.

Bao Linh

Ministry of Planning and Investment