The President of Vietnam held talks with the President of Argentina.

At the invitation of President Truong Tan Sang, President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner of the Republic of Argentina led a high-level delegation of the Argentine Government on an official visit to Vietnam from January 18 to 21.

President Truong Tan Sang welcomes President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. (Photo: Nguyen Khang/VNA)

This is the first visit to Vietnam by female President C. Fernandez and the second visit to Vietnam at the head of state level in Argentina, following the visit of President Carlos Menem in 1997.

On the morning of January 21st, following the official welcoming ceremony, President Truong Tan Sang held talks with President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner at the Presidential Palace.

Attending the talks, on the Vietnamese side were the Head of the Presidential Office Dao Viet Trung, Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang, Vietnamese Ambassador to Argentina Nguyen Van Dao, along with representatives from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Planning and Investment, Agriculture and Rural Development, and several other relevant ministries and agencies; on the Argentine side were Minister of Foreign Affairs and Religion Hector Timerman, Secretary of State in charge of the Presidential Palace, Secretary of State in charge of Communications, Secretary of State in charge of Integration, Members of Parliament, Argentine Ambassador to Vietnam Alberto Kaminker, and many leaders from ministries, agencies, and government and parliamentary bodies of Argentina.

On behalf of the State and people of Vietnam, President Truong Tan Sang warmly welcomed President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner on her official visit to Vietnam, expressing confidence that the visit would create strong political momentum, contributing to the development of the friendship and cooperation between the two countries in a deeper, more effective and substantive way, especially in the context of the two countries celebrating the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations (October 25, 1973 - October 25, 2013).

President Truong Tan Sang sincerely thanked President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, the Government and people of Argentina for their solidarity and valuable support given to Vietnam in the past struggle for national reunification and in the cause of national construction and defense today.
The President highly appreciated the encouraging results in bilateral relations in recent years, affirming that Vietnam always values ​​and wishes to further deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership with Argentina.

President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner expressed her admiration for President Ho Chi Minh, the heroic struggle for independence, freedom, and national unity of the Vietnamese people, as well as the achievements of more than 25 years of Doi Moi (Renovation); she highly appreciated Vietnam's position and prestige in international relations; and affirmed that Argentina values ​​consolidating and strengthening friendly relations and cooperation with Vietnam within the overall policy of focusing on the Asia-Pacific region, especially in the fields of trade and investment, energy, biotechnology, and medicine.

President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner sincerely thanked President Truong Tan Sang, the State and people of Vietnam for the warm and respectful welcome extended to her and the high-level delegation of the Argentine Government; and respectfully invited President Truong Tan Sang to visit Argentina. President Truong Tan Sang thanked her and happily accepted the invitation.

President Truong Tan Sang and President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner had extensive discussions and agreed on many concrete measures to promote substantive bilateral cooperation, including the two countries coordinating the organization of activities to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2013, strengthening the activities and maximizing the effectiveness of the Intergovernmental Cooperation Committee and Political Consultations between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs, and implementing concrete cooperation in the fields of industry, agriculture, science and technology, energy, telecommunications, oil and gas, culture, forensic anthropology, etc.

The two leaders also exchanged views on a number of regional and international issues of common concern, agreeing that territorial disputes should be resolved peacefully, based on international law.

Both sides simultaneously agreed to continue consulting, coordinating, and supporting each other in international organizations and multilateral forums such as the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC), etc., in order to protect the interests and enhance the position of each country, and to make positive contributions to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in both regions and the world.

On the same day, President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner met with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung, visited the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and laid wreaths at the Monument to Heroes and Martyrs, and held discussions with some of Vietnam's leading business leaders.

Earlier, on January 19th, President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and a high-level Argentine delegation visited Ho Chi Minh City, meeting with the Chairman of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, Le Hoang Quan, and visiting the Cu Chi Tunnels historical site.

During the visit, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in coordination with the Argentine Embassy in Hanoi, organized forums and business networking events between Vietnam and Argentina in Hanoi, with the participation of over 200 Argentine businesspeople accompanying the President and nearly 400 Vietnamese businesspeople.

According to (Vietnam+) - LT