During talks before the signing ceremony, the Vietnamese Vice President and her Uruguayan counterpart Rodolfo Nin Novoa, discussed specific measures to further boost cooperation between the two countries.

Vice President Novoa said that the promotion of bilateral cooperation in the coming time will not only consolidate the two countries’ ties but also help them to effectively fix the global economic-financial crisis.

He affirmed that Uruguay will support the recognition of Vietnam’s full market economy regulations in order to accelerate two-way trade.

Vice President Doan said through modest as it is, the value of the two-way trade keeps increasing with the 2008 figure being as much as 2.5 times higher than 2007 and four times higher than 2006.

She emphasised that the two countries have great potential for economic and trade cooperation, especially in producing and processing farm, forestry and aquatic products, manufacturing commodity goods, and energy.

The Vietnamese leader expressed her hope that the new agreement on investment promotion and protection will create a favourable legal environment for the two countries to secure a long-term stable cooperation, and that the two countries will closely cooperate at multilateral and trans-regional forums, such as the UN, the WTO, and ASEAN-Mercosur.

The same day, Vietnam and Uruguay issued a joint statement on Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan’s visit, stating that the two countries’ leaders were pleased with the signing of the agreement on investment promotion and protection and agreed to speed up negotiations for the signing of other cooperative documents to refine the legal framework for bilateral cooperation.

In the statement, Vietnam welcomed Uruguay’s appointment of an honorary consul in Vietnam and pledged to create every favourable condition for Uruguay in this regard.

Vietnam also pledged to back Uruguay’s candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council membership during the 2009-2012 and consider seriously the country’s intention to run for a UN Security Council non-permanent member seat in the 2016-2017 term.

The two countries reaffirmed their support for each other in a run for seats in the 2009-2013 UNESCO Executive Council.