Bilateral relations between Viet Nam and Egypt are expected to be elevated to a new height following Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s visit to Viet Nam earlier this month, said a Vietnamese diplomat.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (L) meets President Tran Dai Quang. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnamese Ambassador to Egypt Do Hoang Long made the statement at a ceremony to mark the 72^nd anniversary of Viet Nam’s National Day in Cairo on 21 September.

Long said that the first-ever state visit to Viet Nam by an Egyptian president since the 2 countries set up diplomatic ties in 1963 laid a foundation for developing bilateral cooperation in politics, economy, culture, education, security and counter-terrorism.

He believed that the 2 countries will make efforts to realise agreements reached during the Egyptian President’s visit to Viet Nam.

The diplomat took this occasion to thank Egyptian ministries, agencies, organisations and friends for supporting the embassy to fulfill its missions as well as promoting friendship between the two countries.

During the Egyptian leader’s visit to Viet Nam, the 2 sides signed several agreements, including a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on establishing a trade and industry cooperation sub-committee, a MoU on marine transport collaboration, a tourism cooperation programme and a cultural partnership programme.

Egypt is the second largest trade partner of Viet Nam in Africa, with 2-way trade hitting 316 million USD in 2016.  Viet Nam exported seafood, automobile spare parts, fabric, black peppercorn, coffee, rubber and other consumer goods to Egypt and imported mainly chemicals, oil products, milk and dairy products, and fibres from the country.

(Source: VNA)