During their talks in Addis Ababa on August 23, President of Ethiopia Mulatu Teshome described the State visit to his country by President Tran Dai Quang as a particularly important political event.

Presidents Tran Dai Quang and Mulatu Teshome in Addis Ababa on August 23

The host said President Quang is the first head of State of Vietnam to visit Ethiopia since the two countries set up diplomatic ties in 1976. He expressed his belief that the visit will create a new momentum for bilateral relations in the time ahead.

President Quang congratulated Ethiopia on its impressive strides which have turned the country into an example of economic development in Africa with an average growth rate of 10 percent over the past decade, considerably improving its people’s living standards and opening up many prospects for cooperation with various countries around the world, including Vietnam.

He highly valued Ethiopia’s role and active contributions as a member of the African Union and the United Nations, including peacekeeping activities, to help ensure security and stability in the region and the world over.

President Teshome said the Ethiopian people and himself always admire the Vietnamese people for the latter’s struggle for national independence in the past and development achievements at present.

He noted that he is impressed with Vietnam’s becoming an economy with fast and stable economic growth and a leading exporter of agricultural products in the world. He hopes the Southeast Asian nation will share experience in economic development, especially in the fields it is experienced in like agriculture and aquaculture.

The two sides said Vietnam and Ethiopia have a fine traditional friendship – an important basis for promoting economic, trade and investment ties. They agreed to provide favourable conditions for the countries’ enterprises to invest and do business in each other’s markets, specify suitable payment measures to support businesses, and increase market survey and share policy information. They will also consider appointing honorary consuls to create more connection channels and tap into economic partnership opportunities in a timely manner.

The Presidents agreed to step up delegation exchanges at all levels, cooperation between the two countries’ parliaments and localities, as well as people-to-people, cultural and sports exchanges to boost mutual understanding.

On this occasion, President Quang invited his counterpart to visit Vietnam. The host accepted the invitation with pleasure.

At the end of the talks, the leaders witnessed the signing of cooperation documents, including a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on investment cooperation between the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ethiopian Investment Commission, an agreement on visa exemption for diplomatic and official passport holders and an MoU on cooperation between the two ministries of foreign affairs.

Subsequently, the two Presidents held a press meeting to announce the talks’ outcomes.

The Vietnamese leader voiced his belief that his visit will be an important milestone in bringing bilateral cooperation to a new stage and in line with the sound traditional friendship.

The Presidents told the media that they discussed all aspects of cooperation and reached high consensus on measures to enhance political tied and expand connections in economy, agriculture, telecommunications, aviation, culture and tourism. They considered economic partnership as the foundation for developing bilateral cooperation in a substantive fashion.

Vietnam and Ethiopia are determined to continue supporting each other to reach development targets for the sake of common progress and prosperity in Asia and Africa. They will also maintain mutual support within the framework of the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement and the South-South Cooperation, President Quang said.

He added the countries also share the view on the need to peacefully solve disputes and comply with international law.

The Vietnamese leader also noted that with the countries’ resolve to raise bilateral trade, Vietnam can export agricultural products, tea, coffee, rubber, electronic products, building materials and vehicles to Ethiopia, and share experience and cooperate with the African nation in rice production and export. He also pledged to facilitate the two business communities’ promotion of trade and investment, participation in fairs, and information exchange.

For his part, President Teshome said to bolster mutual understanding, the two countries should strengthen political trust at a high level and connections at all levels. He also emphasised the importance of peace and security for the prosperity of all nations.

Ethiopia and Vietnam boast huge cooperation potential in various spheres, particularly trade, investment, food processing and infrastructure development, he said, affirming that his country is ready to create the best conditions for Vietnamese firms to access its market to seek investment and business chances. It is also willing to intensify collaboration in education, agriculture and aviation.

The leaders agreed to consider opening a direct air route to facilitate travel, exchange and trade between the two countries.

Later the same day, President Teshome and his spouse hosted a banquet in honour of President Quang, his spouse and the Vietnamese delegation.

President meets with Ethiopian Prime Minister

President Tran Dai Quang (L) meets with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in Addis Ababa 

President Tran Dai Quang met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in Addis Ababa on August 23 as part of his ongoing State visit to the African country.

The host expressed his belief that the visit will help enhance political trust and mutual understanding between the two countries as well as create an important premise to bring the bilateral cooperation to a new level in a pragmatic and effective manner for the aspirations and benefits of their people.

President Quang hailed efforts by the Ethiopian government and PM Abiy Ahmed in reforming the economy and building a peaceful and stable environment for development.

The two leaders agreed to further promote cooperation via increasing the exchange of Party, State, National Assembly and government delegations in addition to people-to-people exchange.

Regarding economic cooperation, both Vietnam and Ethiopia boast huge population of around 100 million people, large market, abundant source of labour, and high speed of development.

The two sides will make better use of cooperation opportunities, promote trade exchanges, and expand the list of high-quality goods with competitive prices while increasing information sharing and facilitating businesses’ investment promotion.

President Quang suggested Ethiopia enable Vietnamese firms, including the telecom group Viettel, to seek investment cooperation opportunities in Ethiopia in telecommunications, trade, agriculture, aviation, and construction of small and medium-sized hydropower plants.

As regards agriculture, the host and guest said Vietnam’s experience in agricultural cultivation could be applied in Ethiopia to help the country ensure food security and agricultural development.

PM Abiy Ahmed said 80 percent of the Ethiopian population relies on agriculture for their livelihoods, so the country places a high premium on the sector.

Ethiopia highly values Vietnam’s agricultural experience and development, especially rice and coffee cultivation, he said, expressing his hope that Vietnam will assist his country in human resources training and share experience in agriculture, which is the main cooperation orientation in the coming time.

The Vietnamese leader hailed the active role of Ethiopia as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in the 2017-2018 period as well as its crucial role in Africa.

He proposed Ethiopia serve as a bridge to connect ASEAN and Vietnam in particular with African countries and the African Alliance. 

He suggested the two countries enhance coordination, experience sharing, and mutual support at international forums and within the framework of the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the South-South cooperation as well as share experience in UN peacekeeping activities.

On the occasion, President Quang conveyed the invitation of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to the Ethiopian Prime Minister to visit Vietnam in an appropriate time.

Vietnam and Ethiopia established diplomatic ties in 1976.

They have signed a framework agreement on cooperation in culture and another on collaboration in economy and science-technology, as well as a cooperation deal between the Vietnamese and Ethiopian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Bilateral trade hit 11.3 million USD in 2017, of which Vietnam exported 2.2 million USD worth of goods, mainly garment-textiles, footwear, and chemical products.

In April 2014, Ethiopia recognised Vietnam’s market economy status.

President: Vietnam keen on boosting ties with Ethiopia

President Tran Dai Quang (L) meets Speaker of Ethiopia’s House of Federation Keria Ibrahim 

President Tran Dai Quang has affirmed to Speaker of Ethiopia’s House of Federation Keria Ibrahim that Vietnam has always attached great importance to developing its traditional friendship and all-round partnership with Ethiopia.

Meeting the Ethiopian head legislator in the capital city of Addis Ababa on August 24 as part of his first visit to the African country, the Vietnamese State leader spoke highly of Ethiopia’s success in maintaining political stability, national development, and reaching the highest economic growth rate in the continent over the past 10 years.

He proposed that Ethiopia’s House of Federation support and encourage the open policies of its government, creating favourable conditions for Vietnamese firms to seek cooperation and investment opportunities in the country, particularly in areas that play to Vietnam’s strengths and experience, such as agriculture, trade, telecommunications, aviation, and small and medium-sized hydropower plant building.

President Quang told his host that Vietnam has already enjoyed fruitful agricultural cooperation with some African countries including Guinea, Benin, Mozambique, and Angola. He suggested that the two sides consider the implementation of a tripartite partnership or the public-private partnership model in agriculture.

Vietnam is willing to create the most welcoming conditions for Ethiopian enterprises to engage in local business and investment, the President said.

Regarding parliamentary cooperation, President Quang asked the legislative bodies of both sides to increase the exchange of delegations at all levels, while coordinating with and supporting each other at international and regional forums, sharing information and legislative and supervising experience, and enhancing their role in promoting signed agreements and deals between the two countries.

For her part, Keria Ibrahim lauded the Vietnamese leader’s visit, and was clearly impressed by the country’s rapid and stable economic growth over the past year, climbing to become the world’s leading exporter of key agricultural products, such as rice and coffee.

She said she hopes that Vietnam will share with Ethiopia their experiences in economic development, especially in areas of strength such as agriculture and aquaculture.

She said that Ethiopia, with its position as a key economic centre for Africa and a gateway to the Horn of Africa, is willing to act as a bridge for Vietnamese businesses to access other nations on the continent.

She proposed that Vietnam re-open an embassy in Addis Ababa to strengthen bilateral cooperation, as well as affiliation between Vietnam and the African Union.

The House of Federation Speaker pointed to similarities between Vietnam and Ethiopia as developing countries with young and abundant workforce, as well as a mutual determination to boost economic growth and improve the living conditions of local people.

The two leaders agreed on the need to further strengthen the collaboration between the legislative bodies of the two countries, thus contributing towards enhancing their economic, trade, and investment partnership to match the already sound political partnership between the two sides. The two countries should continue maintaining close coordination at multilateral forums such as the United Nations and the International Parliamentary Union (IPU).

On the occasion, President Quang conveyed National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan’s visit invitation to Keria Inbrahim, and received her acceptance.

Earlier the same day, President Quang and his spouse visited the National Museum of Ethiopia.

VNA