Bhutan keen to strengthen around ties with Vietnam
VOV.VN - Vietnamese Ambassador to India, Nepal, and Bhutan Nguyen Thanh Hai paid courtesy calls on leaders and senior officials of Bhutan on June 14, as part of a trip to the South Asian country to present his credentials.
He had a host of meetings with Bhutanese Prime Minister Lyonchhen Lotay Tshering, Speaker of the National Assembly (lower house) Wangchuk Namgyel, Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade Tandi Dorji, and Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Loknath Sharma.
The leaders and officials of Bhutan spoke hailed Vietnam’s socio-economic development achievements and expressed their wish to step up the two countries’ cooperation more strongly.
Ambassador Hai briefed his hosts on Vietnam’s socio-economic situation and foreign relations while affirming his commitment to contributing to bilateral ties
PM Tshering shared his Government’s strong and comprehensive reform plans, especially those on public administration, finance, education, investment attraction, and airport development, that are being discussed at the parliament.
Speaker Namgyel underscored the role of parliamentary cooperation and people-to-people links in enhancing bilateral ties. He suggested measures aimed at intensifying exchanges and coordination between the national assemblies of Bhutan and Vietnam, including sharing legislative experience in the fields of common concern.
As Bhutan is set to become a developed country by 2035, the host leaders called for stronger cooperation with Vietnam in a multitude of fields, particularly investment, trade, tourism, agriculture, and forestry.
Foreign Minister Dorji urged both sides to strengthen all-level mutual visits as well as meetings on the sidelines of multilateral conferences. Meanwhile, Minister Sharma voiced his hope for enhanced partnerships in such fields as renewable energy, forestry, organic agriculture, and freshwater fish farming.
At the events, Ambassador Hai affirmed that Vietnam greatly treasures the relations with Bhutan and hopes to help with the latter’s reform and development process.
He also shared his hosts’ view that basing on the progress in their friendship since the diplomatic relationship was established in January 2012 and the post-pandemic increase of people-to-people exchanges, the two sides have favourable conditions to further augment all-round cooperation.
Perceiving that bilateral relations remain modest compared to both sides’ wish and potential, the diplomat also touched upon some measures to bolster cooperation in the areas matching the countries’ demand and advantages.
During the working visit, Hai also attended a seminar with the participation of many local enterprises from various sectors at the Bhutan Chamber of Commerce and Industry to compare notes on business partnership opportunities.