Hanoi, Argentinean localities look to broader cooperation
VOV.VN - A delegation of Hanoi, led by Nguyen Ngoc Tuan, deputy secretary of the municipal Party Committee and Chairman of the municipal People's Council, paid a four-day working trip to Argentina from August 11, in an effort to step up the capital’s ties with Argentinean localities.
At a meeting held with the council and administration of Buenos Aires on August 12, Tuan applauded the joint solidarity, friendship, and practical co-operation between both nations after over more than five decades since the establishment of their diplomatic relations and 14 years since the two nations initially set up their comprehensive partnership.
Acknowledging the co-ordination of the Argentinean Embassy in Vietnam in launching a broad array of cultural exchange activities, the official expressed his wish that both sides will intensify the sharing of experience in capacity enhancement, improving the overall effectiveness and inspection role of people-elected agencies, and the organisation of administrations at all levels.
He also called for further collaboration in investment promotion, urban management, transport, environmental protection, cultural heritage preservation, and tourism and sports development, particularly football.
Matías López, first vice president of the Buenos Aires City Council, commended the two capitals’ co-operation agreement signed in 2008, expressing his hope that the two sides would continue to increase delegation exchanges, cultural interactions, along with the exploration of investment and trade potential.
Ana Ciuti, undersecretary of International Relations of Buenos Aires, affirmed that Vietnam now represents a key hub of innovation in Southeast Asia, most notably the Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park in Hanoi.
Buenos Aires, she said, is therefore keen to exchange experience and co-operate alongside the Vietnamese capital in technological development and the production of high-tech products.
As part of the working visit, a Hanoi-Argentina investment, trade, and tourism promotion conference was held on August 13, with the event drawing the participation of nearly 70 Vietnamese and Argentinean enterprises.
In his opening remarks, Tuan stressed that the nation is regarded as a safe, attractive, and promising destination that boasts a favourable investment environment for foreign businesses.
He stressed that building on the current level of strong political and diplomatic ties, the two countries aim to boost economic and trade co-operation towards a bilateral trade target of US$10 billion in 2025.
Tuan assured that Hanoi authorities always value, accompany, and are willing to create the best conditions possible for foreign businesses to invest and operate effectively when operating in the Vietnamese market.
At the conference, Vietnamese Ambassador to Argentina Ngo Minh Nguyet underscored the two countries’ significant potential for bilateral co-operation. Last year’s bilateral trade soared nearly 17-fold to US$3.45 billion from US$204 million in 2004. The nation is currently Argentina’s sixth largest trading partner and fifth largest export market in the world, while Argentina is the country’s third-largest trading partner in Latin America.
Rodolfo Caffaro Kramer, president of the Mercosur-ASEAN Chamber of Commerce (MACC), said he hopes to establish joint ventures with Vietnamese firms, especially in the preservation of rice varieties and cattle embryos. He also underlined the importance of strengthening air connectivity in a bid to intensify trade exchanges and proposed the opening of a direct air route between the two countries.
Concluding the event, representatives of Vietnamese and Argentine businesses inked various co-operation agreements.
During the course of the visit, the Hanoi delegation also laid a wreath at the Ho Chi Minh monument in Buenos Aires, held meetings with the local departments of justice, urban development, and foreign affairs, and worked with the Vietnamese Embassy.
