Vietnam, Ethiopia look toward stronger ties

This agreement was reached between Vietnamese Ambassador to Ethiopia and Tanzania Nguyen Nam Tien and Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde during the occasion of the Vietnamese diplomat presenting his credentials to the Ethiopian State leader on June 1.

President Zewde thereby affirmed her wish to strengthen mutual ties, whilst also asking that Vietnam continues providing support for the East African country moving forward.

In response, Ambassador Tien said one of the priorities of his term is to boost relations between the two nations across a wide range of fields, particularly in trade and investment. He also affirmed that the Vietnamese side is willing to support and offer favourable conditions for Ethiopia to open an embassy in Vietnam.

This comes after the Vietnamese Ambassador held a working session with Molalign Asfaw, director-general for Asia and the Pacific at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs  of Ethiopia. During this event he proposed that the two countries intensify the exchange of high-level visits whilst simultaneously pushing forward with the implementation of signed agreements once the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is brought under control.

Asfaw noted that there remains plenty of room for both sides to expand bilateral trade, which currently stands at US$20 million annually. He said that Ethiopian is keen to welcome greater investment from Vietnamese businesses, whilst urging more exchanges between the two governments, ruling parties, business communities, and people.

Ambassador Tien also held a meeting with officials from the ruling Prosperity Party (PP) to discuss ways in which to step up the ties between the Communist Party of Vietnam and the PP.

Upon meeting members of the Vietnamese community in Ethiopia, the Vietnamese diplomat affirmed the Vietnamese Embassy’s readiness to support the community, especially amid complicated developments relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.