The Vietnam Red Cross Society will send another US$600,000 to Syria to assist the country in overcoming consequences of the February earthquake, raising the total aid from the Vietnamese Government and people to the Middle East country to $900,000, Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son told Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Faisal Al-Mikdad during their telephone talks on December 13.

Son affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to and hopes to further deepen the traditional friendship and cooperation with Syria. The Government and people of Vietnam always remember and highly value the precious support from the Syrian people during its past struggle for independence and current national construction, he said.

For his part, the Syrian official thanked the Government and people of Vietnam for the support.

Leaders and people of Syria highly value ties with Vietnam, he said, expressing his impression on Vietnam’s socio-economic achievements. He affirmed that Syria always supports and hopes to learn Vietnam’s experience in national development and international economic integration.

The two FMs discussed and agreed on a number of orientations to promote future cooperation between the two countries in the fields of politics, diplomacy and economy, while coordinating with and supporting each other at multilateral organisations such as the UN and the Non-Aligned Movement.

Son took the occasion to invite his Syrian counterpart to visit Vietnam in an appropriate time. Faisal Al-Mikdad accepted the invitation./.VNA