Mr Triet made the statement while receiving Asdrubal Chavez, vice president of the Venezuelan State-owned petroleum corporation (PDVSA), in Hanoi on August 8.

He expressed his pleasure at the recent development of bilateral relations and said that besides economic gains, Vietnamese and Venezuelan businesses should take into account the fine political ties, friendship and solidarity between the two nations.

Mr Triet extended his best regards to his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez.

Asdrubal Chavez briefed Mr Triet on the results of his working session with leaders of the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) and affirmed that bilateral ties have been progressing since Mr Triet’s official visit to the Latin American nation last November.

PDVSA appreciates the results of cooperation programmes with PetroVietnam and wants to increase ties with the Vietnamese State-owned petroleum group, said the PDVSA vice president.