Official visit of President Serzh Sagsyan to Vietnam

President Serzh Sargsyan, who is conducting an official visit to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam this morning visited the Memorial of the Fallen Heroes and Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, laid wreathes and paid tribute to their memory.

Later, at the Presidential Palace there took place a private meeting between Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Truong Tan Sang, which was followed by the ceremony of signing the Armenian-Vietnamese official documents aimed at the development of bilateral relations. The parties signed, in particular, the Agreement between the Government of RA and Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on lifting visa requirement for the holders of diplomatic and official passports, the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Armenia and Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on the economic, trade, scientific and technical cooperation, and Protocol of Cooperation between the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

After the signing ceremony, the Presidents of the two countries met with the representatives of the mass media and summarized the results of the negotiations.

Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Truong Tan Sang underscored that Armenia and Vietnam have traditionally close friendly relations and dynamically evolving political dialogue, cooperate successfully in the framework of international organizations; however the level of economic cooperation doesn’t correspond to the level of the political relations and exiting potential.

From the viewpoint of advancing the economic relations, the Presidents of Armenia and Vietnam stressed the importance of creating a necessary legal field. According to the leaders of the two countries, the documents singed today are the first step in that direction.

The parties reached agreement to create intergovernmental commissions, which in their opinion will put the Armenian-Vietnamese cooperation in different areas on a more practical basis.

Among the most perspective areas of cooperation, the parties noted trade and economy, science and technology, security, defense, education, personnel training, cooperation between the law enforcement bodies, tourism, culture and some others.

At the conclusion of the meeting between Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Truong Tan Sang it was underlined that Armenia and Vietnam have political will for the strengthening and development which along with the friendship of the two nations constitutes a good base for the expansion and deepening of the Armenian-Vietnamese ties. Toward this end, the Presidents of the two countries stressed the importance of opening diplomatic representations in Armenia and Vietnam.

The President of Vietnam thanked Armenia for the assistance provided to Vietnam back in Soviet times, when the country was in a difficult situation, as well as for giving fine education to the Vietnamese students in the higher education establishments of Armenia. According to President Truong Tan Sang, many of the graduates upon returning to Vietnam have made great contribution to the reconstruction of the country and currently continue to be useful to Vietnam through their knowledge and experience. The Presidents of the two countries highlighted the role of the Vietnamese graduates of the Armenian educational establishments in strengthening the friendship of the Armenian and Vietnamese peoples.

Today in Hanoi, President Serzh Sargsyan met also with those who have arrived to the capital from different regions of the country. The Vietnamese graduates thanked the President of Armenia for the opportunity to have this meeting and noted that there are over a thousand of graduates in Vietnam, who maintain their interest in Armenia and follow developments in our country.

During the cordial and sincere conversation with President Serzh Sargsyan, the Vietnamese graduates of the Armenian institutions told about their impressions of Yerevan, recalled student years passed there, and expressed desire to revisit Armenia.

The President of Armenia genially invited them all to Yerevan, spoke about the contemporary Armenia and answered the questions raised by the participants of the meeting.

In Hanoi, the President of Armenia visited also the Temple of Knowledge. “This millennia-old Temple of Knowledge testifies to the esteem and affection of the Vietnamese people for knowledge,“ President Sargsyan wrote in the Book of Honorary Guests after touring the Temple.

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Today, in the framework of his official visit to Vietnam, President Serzh Sargsyan met with Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyễn Phú Trọng and Speaker of the National Assembly Nguyen Sinh Hung.

At the meetings, the parties gave a high assessment to the results of President Sargsyan’s negotiations with the President of Vietnam Truong Tan Sang and stressed the importance of the signed documents. They expressed confidence that the official visit of the President of Armenia will give a new impetus to the strengthening of bilateral relations, elevating the Armenian-Vietnamese relations to a new level.

The parties also stressed that although diplomatic relations between Armenia and Vietnam were established twenty years ago, the two friendly people have been maintaining contacts much earlier.

At the meeting with the Prime Minister of Vietnam, Serzh Sargsyan discussed a wide range of issues pertinent to the development of the economic relations. The interlocutors stressed the importance of the establishment of the Armenian-Vietnamese intergovernmental commission. They also spoke about the importance of the organization of business forums, exhibitions and contacts between the business circles of the two countries for a full realization of the economic potential, getting more information about the opportunities in the markets of the two countries and existing demand.

In the view of the fact that Armenia and Vietnam are members of the World Trade Organization and in their economic policies are guided by the same principles, President Sargsyan and the Prime Minister of Vietnam spoke about the possibilities of expanding bilateral cooperation and strengthening the Armenian-Vietnamese trade relations.

Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng assured that the Government of Vietnam will do its best to implement all agreements reached by the Presidents of Armenia and Vietnam.

At the meeting with the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyễn Phú Trọng discussed were issues related to the development of bilateral relations in different areas as well as establishment of working relations between the ruling parties of the two countries.

With the Speaker of the National Assembly Nguyen Sinh Hung, President Serzh Sargsyan discussed issues of the establishment and enhancement of the Armenian-Vietnamese interparliamentary relations and toward that end, creation in the parliaments of the two countries of the friendship groups.

Nguyen Sinh Hung congratulated President Sargsyan on the successful Parliamentary elections held on May 6 and victory of the party headed by the President and wished him every success.

In the evening the President of Vietnam gave an official dinner in honor of the President of Armenia.