VietNamNet Bridge – President Truong Tan Sang will make a state visit to Brunei from November 27-29 at the invitation of Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah.

This will be followed by a visit to Myanmar from November 29 to December 1 at the invitation of the country’s President, Thein Sein.

The visits will affirm Vietnam’s policy of friendship and multi-faceted cooperation with the two countries.

The leader will discuss measures to strengthen all-around cooperation with Brunei and boost cooperation with Myanmar, as well as support Vietnamese businesses to seek investment opportunities in the two markets.

Vietnam and Brunei recently marked the 20 th anniversary of their diplomatic ties.

Over the past, the two countries have worked hard to enhance multi-faceted cooperation, of which that in trade, economics and investment witnessed fruitful results.

Two-way trade reached 204 million USD in 2011 and 403 million USD in the first nine months of 2012.

Brunei is currently running 129 projects, worth 4.9 billion USD, in Vietnam, making it the 12 th largest investor of 49 countries and territories investing in the country.

Vietnam has invested in a 650,000 USD non-ferrous metal, precious metal and chemical project in Brunei.

The two countries cooperate in agro-fishery, oil and gas, labour, aquaculture, and education and training. Cooperation in education is conducted via a multilateral framework.

In recent years, Brunei bestowed oil and gas and English scholarships to Vietnamese students.

In terms of cultural cooperation, the two countries have organised many activities, especially on the occasion of their diplomatic ties anniversary.

Bilateral defence cooperation has seen development in recent years. Broad military delegation exchanges have strengthened mutual understanding and confidence and found cooperative opportunities for the two armies.

The two sides signed an MoU on defence cooperation in 2005 and established the defence attaché offices in 2010.

Security cooperation between Vietnam’s Public Security Ministry and Brunei’s relevant agencies has been maintained through multilateral forums, such as ARF, Interpol, Aseanapol and SOMTC (Senior Official Meetings on Transnational Crime).

There are currently 1,000 Vietnamese workers in Brunei.

The two sides have signed aviation, maritime and trade cooperation agreements, as well as tourism, defence, sport and youth cooperation MoUs.

Myanmar and Vietnam established diplomatic ties in 1975. Myanmar considers Vietnam a reliable ASEAN partner. The two countries often exchange high-ranking visits and meetings.

Economic, trade and investment cooperation has seen positive development with two-way trade reaching 167 million USD in 2011 and 157.4 million USD in the first nine months of 2012.

Vietnamese registered investment capital to Myanmar reached 500 million USD at the end of 2011 and there are many more projects waiting for licences.

Vietnam has opened a Vietnam Airlines office in Yangon, with direct flights from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to Yangon.

The city has also seen the arrival of a Vietnam Bank for Investment and Development (BIDV) office, and the mobile phone corporation Viettel.

In May, 2012, the two countries successfully organised the sixth meeting of the Vietnam-Myanmar trade subcommittee, unlocking prospects for bilateral economic and investment cooperation.

The two countries have specified 12 priority sectors, including agriculture, aquaculture, finance-banking, aviation and telecommunications.

Regarding forestry, the Vietnam Rubber Industry Group is researching a project to plant 2,000 hectares of rubber trees in Myanmar.

After Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s visit to Myanmar last December, Vietnam and Myanmar signed an MoU on cooperation in agricultural and rural development and another on technical assistance with BIDV’s non-refundable aid of 250,000 USD for Myanmar’s agricultural ministry.

The two countries are speeding up cooperation between their localities and cities.

VietNamNet/Vietnam Plus