Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn (R) and Minister for Foreign Affairs, International Business, Trade and Energy of the Commonwealth of Dominica Vince Henderson sign the agreement in New York on September 22. VNA photo

 NEW YORK – Việt Nam and the Commonwealth of Dominica on September 22 signed an agreement on visa exemption for holders of diplomatic and official passports.

The agreement was inked by Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn and Minister for Foreign Affairs, International Business, Trade and Energy of the Commonwealth of Dominica Vince Henderson, who were in New York to attend the high-level week of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

At a working session before the signing ceremony, the two ministers discussed and reached consensus on measures to bolster the friendship and cooperation between Việt Nam and the Commonwealth of Dominica.

Son highly valued the outcomes of Henderson’s visit to Việt Nam in March, the first by an official of the Dominican Government in the context that the two countries are celebrating the 10th founding anniversary of diplomatic relations (November 1, 2013 - 2023).

The Vietnamese minister suggested both sides continue close coordination to carry out the agreed measures, while enhancing delegation exchanges, as well as encouraging and creating favourable conditions for enterprises of both nations to exchange information and seek cooperation opportunities.

Both sides should consider the acceleration of negotiations on economic and trade deals such as a double taxation avoidance agreement, and cooperation pacts in the fields of science, technology, education and agriculture, thus making contributions to the development of the bilateral ties, Sơn added.

For his part, Henderson said Dominica always treasured and wanted to intensify its relations with Việt Nam, and spoke highly of the coordination between the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Consulate General of the Commonwealth of Dominica in HCM City in the arrangement of his visit to Việt Nam, as well as the acceleration of procedures for the signing of the agreement on visa exemption for holders of diplomatic and official passports.

He described the agreement as an important step in the bilateral relations, and expressed his hope that, with the efforts of both nations, Dominica-Việt Nam ties would witness breakthrough development steps in the future.

The two ministers also agreed to boost coordination, and support each other at multilateral forums, especially at the UN, in addition to promoting cooperation between Việt Nam and countries in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and between Dominica and other ASEAN member states.VNA/VNS