State President Lương Cường met with mayor of Peru's capital Lima Rafael Lopez Aliaga. VNA/VNS Photo

The Lima official affirmed that the people of the city, like all Peruvians, highly value the friendship and cooperative ties with Việt Nam, pledged his readiness to further strengthen bilateral cooperation, and voiced his hope for an early establishment of a sisterly relationship between Lima and a Vietnamese locality.

Cường suggested Lima, as Peru’s capital, play a leading role in promoting the two countries’ multifaceted cooperation. He also requested that the mayor support Việt Nam’s Viettel Military Industry and Telecoms Group (Viettel) in expanding its Bitel project in Peru and participating in Lima’s digital transformation and smart city projects.

The Peruvian mayor expressed his full support for Viettel’s investment in Peru, particularly its efforts to extend coverage to remote areas.

Underscoring the capital’s ambition to develop as a smart city, he said he looks forward to future opportunities for knowledge-sharing between both sides in this area and shared his wish to learn from Việt Nam’s expertise, seeking support in carrying out projects to build systems of social welfare and credit-providing e-wallet for low-income residents in Lima.

On this occasion, the municipal administration awarded Cường the token key to the city in recognition of his role in fostering a robust, sustainable partnership between the two countries.

Speaking at a ceremonial event following the private meeting, Lopez Aliaga emphasised that the presentation of the key symbolises President Lương Cường’s new status as a close friend of Lima and Peru.

Cường expressed his gratitude for the honour, describing it as both a privilege and a responsibility to further deepen the positive and practical ties between the two countries. 

State President receives leaders of major Peruvian businesses

President Lương Cường received leaders of several outstanding businesses of Peru in Lima at noon on November 14 (local time), within the framework of his official visit to the Latin American country and his attendance at the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week there.

These are operating in various sectors, including mining, energy, port investment, financial services, mutual fund management, electricity, and insurance.

Speaking highly of the remarkable progress and dynamism of Việt Nam's economy, they said that the two sides can fully complement each other in striving for a sustainable and prosperous future, and expressed their hope to learn more about the Vietnamese market and seek potential partners for collaboration in areas where both countries have strengths, thereby helping further boost the bilateral economic, trade, and investment relations.

Cường expressed his pleasure at the meeting, saying he believes it will make a positive contribution to the development of bilateral economic and investment relations to a new and better phase.

Recalling the important progress in bilateral cooperation across various fields in recent times, he stated that there still has much room for growth, especially now that both countries have officially become full members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

Cường emphasised that Peru's designation as a "Development Partner" by ASEAN will enhance its presence in Southeast Asia and open up opportunities to boost trade between the Latin American nation and ASEAN member countries. He also expressed his hope that Việt Nam will serve as a gateway to connect Peruvian businesses with the ASEAN market of nearly 700 million people.

Based on their recommendations, Cường shared some ideas for future cooperation between businesses of both sides. He urged Peru to support and facilitate Việt Nam's projects, particularly in areas such as digital transformation, digital infrastructure, smart cities, cybersecurity, digital health, and digital education; and to create favourable conditions in the process of finalising the transfer of Việt Nam's oil and gas projects to Peru.

The State leader also suggested Peruvian enterprises explore the possibility of collaborating in sectors where Peru has particular strengths and Việt Nam also has significant potential, such as mining, organic agriculture, food processing, and tourism.

He urged both sides to continue coordinating in utilising free trade agreements (FTAs) and bilateral and multilateral cooperation mechanisms to which both countries are members, such as APEC, CPTPP, and the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC).

The President reaffirmed Việt Nam's commitment to creating a favourable business and investment environment for foreign investors in general, and for Peruvian companies in particular, to cooperate and invest effectively and sustainably in the country.

VNS