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| Cold ice, warm friendship: The Perito Moreno Glacier is a glacier located in the Los Glaciares National Park in southwest Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. |
Viet Nam News
HA NOI — As Argentina and Viet Nam celebrate today the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, Ambassador Juan Valle Raleigh shares some highlights of steps that have been taken to deepen and enhance the relationship between both countries.
Solidarity, friendship, co-operation and shared interests are the solid base on which the bilateral relationship of Argentina and Viet Nam was built. Over all these years the bond grew and strengthened until in 2010 our governments signed a joint declaration in which they recognised that the bilateral relationship had reached a strategic level.
Viet Nam is a priority partner of Argentina in Southeast Asia and it is gratifying to see that all areas of the bilateral agenda are strengthening year after year.
In the institutional field, high-level visits and meetings have contributed significantly to the strengthening of the relationship between Argentina and Viet Nam.
Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie made an official visit last July and met with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Vice Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Pham Binh Minh and with the other heads of ministries.
In May and June, Governor of Santa Fe Miguel Liftchitz, Governor of Entre Rios Gustavo Bordet and Deputy Minister of Agribusiness Markets Marisa Bircher also visited Viet Nam and met Vietnamese leadership and Government officials.
Argentina was visited by Vice Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly General Do Ba Ty, the President of the People’s Council of HCM City Nguyen Thi Quyet Tam and Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien.
Linkages between institutions and leaders of both countries play a key role in the bilateral relationship. For this reason, I also congratulate the establishment of Parliamentary Friendship Groups in the Legislature of the two countries, as well as the possibility of working on cooperation schemes between cities and universities.
The bilateral economic relationship has also been intense and mutually beneficial. Two-way trade grew almost 10 times during the last 10 years, reaching US$3 billion in 2017 as a result of the advantages each country has and the economic complementarity.
More and more Argentine businessmen come to Viet Nam and the same interest is seen on the Vietnamese business side. In this regard, I think there is still a lot of potential for our businessmen to explore and trade figures can grow even more in the coming years.
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| Joining hands: Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (centre) receives Minister of Foreign Affairs Jorge Faurie (sixth from left) and staff of the Argentine Embassy in Viet Nam. — Photo courtesy of the embassy |
During the visit of Minister of Foreign Affairs Jorge Faurie, the Embassy organized a business seminar that brought together Vietnamese and Argentine businessmen and institutions, where specific business projects were also identified.
Technical cooperation is one of the central pillars of the bilateral relationship. Through the Argentine Fund for South-South Cooperation (FOAR), Argentina carries out cooperation projects with Viet Nam in the fields of biotechnology and genetics applied to agriculture and livestock. Taking into account the positive result of this cooperation, we organised with Viet Nam in Ha Noi a Regional Cooperation Workshop on Agribusiness, which brought together experts of ASEAN countries, Mongolia and Afghanistan.
Additionally, the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF) carries out an emblematic project of cooperation for the identification of the remains of the war martyrs of Viet Nam, through training of Vietnamese experts in techniques, methods and studies related to anthropology and forensic genetics.
Activities linked to tourism, sports and culture have greatly contributed to bringing our two countries closer together, geographically distant but very close in terms of solidarity and friendship.
Every year the number of Argentine visitors in Viet Nam increases. Our citizens are attracted by its natural beauty, the kindness of its people and its combination of ancestral traditions and the modern development of its thriving society.
Viet Nam has also been more than open to the culture of Argentina and in this regard the support received from the Vietnamese authorities for our cultural and academic events are to be highlighted. For the celebration of the 45 years of diplomatic relations, we have given special emphasis along 2018 to the celebration of Malbec Day in Ha Noi, the Argentine Film Festival in HCM City, the Gastronomic Week in Ha Noi and HCM City, the Saigon Tango Festival and the annual event of ECASA (Casa del Hispano), among others.
At the 45th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations between Argentina and Viet Nam, I would like to reiterate my personal commitment and that of the team of the Argentine Embassy to continue working for the benefit of our two countries and their people. — VNS
OVietnam