VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam wants to strengthen relations with African countries, including Angola, says State Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan.

Vice President Doan made the statement during talks with her Angolan counterpart Fernando Dias dos Santos in Hanoi on February 15. She welcomed Mr dos Santos’s visit, saying it demonstrates the solidarity between Vietnamese and Angolan people in the spirit of strategic partnership, equality, and mutual assistance.

Ms Doan also said Vietnam is willing to cooperate with Angola in the process of national construction and development for the prosperity of both nations.

Vice President dos Santos expressed his delight at the achievements made by Vietnam during its Renewal (Doi moi) process. He also said Angola wants to boost cooperation with Vietnam in agriculture, health care, education, and oil and gas.

Both host and guest agreed to ask relevant ministries and agencies to maintain cooperation in key areas, and expand in other areas of their strength, such as construction, mining, and telecommunications.

They also committed to speeding up the implementation of signed agreements and boosting negotiations of new agreements to create a legal framework for the development of bilateral relations.

Mr dos Santos took the opportunity to invite Ms Doan to visit his country in the future.

After the talks, both Vice Presidents witnessed the signing of a protocol on technical cooperation between the two educational ministries, and another on cooperation between the two cultural ministries.

**On the same day, Vice President dos Santos attended a ceremony to open the Angolan Embassy in Hanoi.

Speaking at the event, Ambassador Joao Manuel Bernardo stressed the opening of the embassy will deepen the cooperative relations between the two countries.

** Also on February 15, Vice President dos Santos was received by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, who proposed Vietnam and Angola back each other in multilateral forums.

PM Dung underlined the results of the talks between Mr dos Santos and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Thi Doan, saying they will contribute to boosting bilateral cooperation.

Mr Dung expressed his delight at the fine development of bilateral ties and said Vietnam is eager to deepen the relationship, for mutual benefit. He also proposed promoting the exchange of high-ranking delegations to foster cooperation in education, culture, and tourism.

He asked both countries to do their best to increase two-way trade from the modest US$160 million in 2011, through the intergovernmental cooperation committee, and asked Angola to create favourable conditions for Vietnamese businesses to operate in the African country.

Vice President dos Santos said Angola will do its utmost to strengthen ties with the Southeast Asian country, especially by implementing signed cooperation agreements.

* Angola’s Vice President praises Vietnam’s past struggle

The Vice President of Angola, Fernando Dias dos Santos, and his entourage visited Ho Chi Minh City on February 13.

During his meeting with the city leaders, the Angolan leader said Vietnam’s past struggle for national liberation has inspired the Angolan people in their own struggle for liberation as well as in the African country’s construction and development process.

Mr Santos said Vietnam’s socio-economic development is a model for other poor nations that want to escape poverty.

The Angolan vice president added that his visit demonstrates Angola’s determination to strengthen and expand its cooperative ties with Vietnam, both politically and economically.

In his speech, the Chairman of the HCMC People’s Committee, Le Hoang Quan, expressed hope that the political and economic relations between the two countries will continue to grow to a higher level after Mr Santos’s visit.

VietNamNet/VOV