Vietnamese Vice President Võ Thị Ánh Xuân (left) had talks with President of the UAE Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi. — VNA/VNS Photo Lâm Khánh

ABU DHABI — Vice State President Võ Thị Ánh Xuân underlined the importance Việt Nam attaches to its relations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during a meeting with President of the UAE Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Wednesday (local time).

The meeting followed a welcome ceremony for the Vice President of Việt Nam and was also attended by the Vice President of the UAE, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed.

The UAE President hailed the working visit by Vice President Xuân amid the 30th founding anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic relationship (August 1, 1993 - 2023), affirming that his country viewed Việt Nam as an important partner in the Asia-Pacific region and wished to enhance all-round cooperation.

Vice President Xuân stated that Việt Nam treasured and hoped to strengthen the friendship and multifaceted ties with the UAE – a leading economic, trade, and investment partner in the Middle East.

The two sides discussed orientations and measures for promoting partnerships in various spheres and elevating cooperation to a new height.

They stressed the need to increase mutual visits at all levels, especially high ones, coordinate closely and support each other at international and regional forums and organisations, and step up people-to-people and cultural exchanges, particularly in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship, to enhance friendship and mutual understanding between the two peoples.

Both host and guest expressed their satisfaction at the strides in bilateral economic connections, including bilateral trade topping US$5 billion annually.

The welcome ceremony for Vietnamese Vice President Võ Thị Ánh Xuân. — VNA/VNS Photo

To raise the trade revenue to $10 billion and higher, Xuân recommended the two sides encourage enterprises to engage in investment and trade promotion activities, create optimal conditions for each other’s strong exports, and continue perfecting the legal framework to facilitate economic links, especially soon launching negotiations on a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) between the two countries.

Based on the two countries’ strengths and demand, the Vietnamese and UAE leaders agreed to boost cooperation in other potential fields such as investment, oil and gas, renewable energy, logistics, agriculture, and Halal product manufacturing. They also agreed to hold a meeting of the Việt Nam-UAE Inter-governmental Committee this year to review and devise measures for cooperation enhancement.

At the meeting, the UAE President praised the contributions of Vietnamese people in his country, affirming that the UAE Government will continue providing favourable conditions for the community to develop further and contribute more to the two countries’ friendship.

On this occasion, Vice President Xuân conveyed Vietnamese President Võ Văn Thưởng’s invitation to the UAE President to visit Việt Nam in the future. She also invited the Vice President of the UAE to visit her country. The UAE leaders thanked her and accepted the invitations with pleasure. — VNS