Ms Doan welcomed the South African leader to Vietnam during the grand millennial anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi and said the visit was a landmark for improving the ties of friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and South Africa.

Mr Motlanthe said South Africa’s ties with Vietnam are developing well and his country regards Vietnam as an important partner in Asia. He expressed his wish to expand bilateral relations in many fields.

Meeting the press after the meeting, Vice President Doan said she and her counterpart discussed ways to raise trade turnover between the two countries from US$500 million currently to $1 billion. She said they also agreed to boost cooperation in culture, tourism, security, defence and environmental protection.

Ms Doan added that Vietnam and South Africa will co-host an intergovernmental meeting in 2011 to review the past cooperation and discuss measures to implement the signed agreements.

At the meeting, both countries signed a tourism cooperation agreement and a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in water resources.