VietNamNet Bridge – Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has affirmed Viet Nam's consistent policy to consolidate and develop friendly relations and co-operation with Ukraine, considering it one of the priorities in the country's foreign affairs.

Talking with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanu-kovych in Kiev yesterday, Dung said the two sides would therefore discuss the implementation of agreements they had signed, particularly high-ranking ones reached during Yanu-kovych's recent visit to Viet Nam.

The two countries were also expected to reach consensus on measures to improve co-operative efficiency, especially in economy, trade and investment.

They included improving the operational efficiency of Viet Nam-Ukraine Inter-governmental Committee for Economic, Trade, Scientific and Technical Co-operation; completing the legal foundation for co-operation in areas the two sides were in position of strength and creating more favourable conditions for their goods to penetrate into the markets of the two countries.

Dung stressed that Viet Nam was willing to create conditions for Ukrainian businesses to invest in Viet Nam in the fields of machine manufacture, ship building, aircraft manufacture, energy and agriculture.

He said he wanted the two sides to expand co-operation in designing, building electrical energy projects and upgrading power plants that Ukraine and the former Soviet Union had helped Viet Nam build.

Dung also asked Yanukovych to create favourable conditions to help Vietnamese investors do their business in Ukraine as well as Vietnamese overseas who were living and working in the country.

Yanukovych welcomed Prime Minister Dung's visit, saying it was further motivation to speed up the traditional friendship between the two countries.

He emphasised the implementation of co-operation activities and the introduction of new co-operation programmes, particularly in economy, trade and investment.

Yanukovych said Ukraine was willing to co-operate and support Viet Nam in areas in which the country was strong such as oil and gas, mineral processing, universe science, machine manufacture, security and national defence.

He also expressed his wish to receive Viet Nam's support for Ukraine at international and regional forums.

In talks with PM

Prime Minister Dung and his Ukrainian counterpart, Mykola Azarov, discussed measures to boost the two countries' future co-operation.

Azarov affirmed that developing the friendship and co-operation with Viet Nam on a mutually beneficial basis was one of the priorities in Ukraine's foreign policy.

Dung stressed that while implementing its foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification and multilateralisation of international relations, and proactive international and regional integration, Viet Nam always attached importance to consolidating and developing relations with traditional friends, including the Ukraine.

The two sides agreed on the great prospects for the Viet Nam-Ukraine co-operation and comprehensive partnership, which was set up during the Ukrainian President's visit to Viet Nam in March this year.

They also discussed measures to support import-export activities and remove bilateral trade barriers in an effort to double two-way trade between Viet Nam and the Ukraine next year from US$260 million last year.

The two sides will endeavour to implement signed agreements in banking, agriculture and telecommunications in order to expand co-operation in these potential areas, while studying possibilities for co-operation in other fields, including high technology, aviation and space science.

Azarov agreed with PM Dung's proposal to increase the number of scholarships for Vietnamese students to study at Ukrainian universities.

Dung hailed Aerosvit airlines for its plan to open a direct route from Kiev to HCM City in December this year, which would contribute to boosting exchanges between the two countries' people and developing tourism.

Dung invited Azarov to visit Viet Nam at a suitable time and Azarov accepted the invitation.

After the talks, Dung and Azarov witnessed the signing of the minutes of the 12th meeting of the Ukraine-Viet Nam Intergovernmental Committee for Economic, Trade, Scientific and Technological and a memorandum of understanding between Ha Noi National University and Kiev National University.

Meeting with Chairman

In his meeting with Vladimir Litvin, Chairman of Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) yesterday, PM Dung said he was pleased to see relations developing between the two parliaments, especially after the chairman's visit to Viet Nam last year.

Dung said he wanted Ukraine's parliament to provide legal assistance necessary to implement agreements signed by high-ranking leaders, supervise the implementation of agreements signed by the two Governments and support co-operation between cities and provinces in the two countries.

Litvin expressed his wish that the two parliaments would continue exchanging delegations and experience in lawmaking and supervision and co-ordinating with each other at international forums.

He affirmed the Ukrainian parliament's support through necessary legal assistance to implement agreements reached between the two countries' leaders as well as supervision of the implementation of agreements signed between the two governments.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News