Acting Minister of External Relations of Chile Edgardo Riveros has presented Grand Cross Order of Merit to Vietnamese Ambassador to Chile Ngo Duc Thang in honour of his contributions to bilateral ties. 

Acting Minister of External Relations of Chile Edgardo Riveros (R) and Vietnamese Ambassador to Chile Ngo Duc Thang

Speaking at the ceremony on November 27, Riveros spoke highly of Thang’s contributions to promoting the exchange of delegations between the two nations, notably the Vietnam visit by Chilean President Michellet Bachelet in early November and the upcoming Chile visit by Politburo member and permanent Vietnamese National Assembly Vice Chairwoman Tong Thi Phong. 

He lauded Thang’s efforts to maintain the political consultation mechanism between the two foreign ministries and the bilateral free trade council mechanism, successfully hold celebrations for the 45th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties, support the effective implementation of the bilateral free trade agreement to raise two-way trade from over 600 million USD in 2013 to an estimated 1.2 billion USD this year. 

Riveros noted that Ambassador Thang stepped up the signing of bilateral cooperation agreements, including the visa waiver agreement for the two countries’ popular passport holders that took effect in August 2017. 

Ambassador Thang also supported mutual liaison in multilateral mechanisms such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Week recently held in Vietnam and slated for 2019 in Chile, as well as Chile’s entry to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) and negotiations on the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). 

Thang, for his part, pledged to continue working with Chilean friends to further develop friendly cooperative ties between the two countries. -VNA