Uruguay Vice President to visit Vietnam
(VOV) - Uruguayan Vice President Danilo Astori will visit Vietnam from November 5-7 with the aim of strengthening bilateral cooperation, particularly in trade relations.
According to the Uruguayan Presidential Palace’s website, Mr Danilo is scheduled to meet with his Vietnamese counterpart Truong Tan Sang and National Assembly (NA) Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung and attend a business conference in Ho Chi Minh City.
Accompanying Mr Danilo will be leaders from the National Administration of Ports, the National Meat Institute, the National Chamber of Commerce and Services, the National Chamber of Industries, the Information Technologies Chamber, and the Free Trade Zone Chamber.
President Danilo's visit follows Uruguayan President Tabare Vaquez's visit to Vietnam in November 2007. Earlier, as a Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr Danilo signed a cooperative framework agreement between the two governments with Vietnamese Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc.
After the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1993, Uruguay received a visit from Vice State President Nguyen Thi Doan in 2009 and opened an embassy in Vietnam in late 2011.
According to statistics from Uruguayan Customs, two-way trade turnover between Uruguay and Vietnam enjoyed positive trends in recent years and hit a record high of US$63 million in 2011. Vietnam's exports reached US$28 million and imports from Uruguay were estimated at US$35 million.
Vietnam primarily exports cement, footwear, fish, printers, rubber, dried coconut fiber, suitcases and bags, and imports wood, fish, soybeans, leather, milk, plasma, and pharmaceuticals from Uruguay.