Tanzanian Prime Minister Mizengo Peter Pinda is on a three-day official visit to Vietnam from March 29-31 at the invitation of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

On March 29, a welcome ceremony for the Tanzanian PM was held in Hanoi.

The Tanzanian PM’s visit to Vietnam took place at a time when the two countries are celebrating the 45^th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic ties. Over the few years, the ties of friendship and cooperation have constantly developed. Tanzania ranks second after the Philippines in importing rice (25 percent broken rice) from Vietnam. Bilateral cooperation in agriculture, healthcare and education has been enhanced, benefiting both sides. Vietnam and Tanzania have effectively implemented cooperation agreements on economics, trade and science and technology and last year’s two-way trade turnover hit nearly US$40 million.

At talks following the welcome ceremony, PM Dung expressed his delight at developments in bilateral cooperation and praised the achievements the Tanzanian people have made in their cause of national construction as well as Tanzanian leaders’ determination to implement the “Vision 2025” plan to improve people’s living standards and become one of the typical economies in Eastern Africa.

Mr Dung reiterated that Vietnam attaches great importance to developing relations with traditional friends in Africa, including Tanzania and is ready to share its experiences with Tanzania in economic and infrastructure development, education, healthcare, agriculture and poverty reduction.

For his part, PM Minzengo Peter Pinda said he is happy to visit Vietnam and praised the country’s achievements in the Doi Moi (Renewal) process while affirming his country’s wish to promote its traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Vietnam, especially in trade, agriculture, healthcare and education in order to fulfill the UN Millennium Development Goals for poverty reduction.

He also showed interest in Vietnam’s experiences in fighting malaria and in the production of anti-malarial drugs and the desire to learn from it in the field.

The two PMs agreed to ask ministries and sectors to implement the signed agreements soon and accelerate the negotiation on signing other cooperation agreements on agriculture, healthcare and investment encouragement and protection in the future.

The Tanzanian PM took the occasion to invite PM Dung to visit his country and expressed the hope that Vietnamese businesses would come to seek investment opportunities in Tanzania.

At the end of talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of an agreement on visa exemptions for holders of diplomatic and official passports, and a memorandum of understanding on the establishment of a diplomatic consultancy mechanism between the two foreign ministries. They also witnessed the hand-over of agricultural tractors from the Vietnam Engine and Agriculture Machinery Corporation (VEAM) to Tanzania.

The same day, PM Dung hosted a banquet in honour of the Tanzanian PM and his delegation.