Vietnamese President Võ Văn Thưởng (right) and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev had talks on Tuesday in Beijing. — VNA/VNS Photo

BEIJING — Vietnamese President Võ Văn Thưởng met with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on Tuesday while in Beijing, China, to attend the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF).

At the meeting, Thưởng affirmed Việt Nam's consistent policy to treasure the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Central Asian countries, including Uzbekistan, hoping that the Việt Nam-Uzbekistan relations will develop in a more practical fashion so as to benefit the two peoples.

Speaking highly of the bilateral cooperation potential, he suggested both sides step up economic-trade collaboration which has shown robust signs in recent time, while deepening cooperation in the fields of education-training, cultural exchange, tourism and people-to-people exchanges, and considering the opening of direct flights connecting localities of the two countries.

Besides, the two sides should enhance delegation exchanges at all levels to improve political trust and mutual understanding, and expand cooperation in the fields that the two nations hold complementary advantages, he stressed.

The Uzbek President, for his part, said he is impressed by Việt Nam's socio-economic development and renewal achievements over the past time.

He agreed with President Thưởng's recommendations to promote bilateral collaboration in economy-trade and tourism, with priority given to exchanges of business delegations and expansion of business opportunities.

He affirmed that Uzbekistan attaches importance to the relations with Việt Nam, and wants to restore cooperation in traditional fields, particularly oil and gas, education-training, student exchange and cultural exchange.

At the event, both leaders reached consensus on enhancing cooperation at multilateral forums, including the United Nations and many other international organisations.

Uzbekistan hopes that Việt Nam will be a bridge to help it bolster connectivity with ASEAN, while Việt Nam wants to promote cooperative relations with the Central Asian region through Uzbekistan.

The two leaders took the occasion to invite each other to visit their countries soon, and they all accepted the invitation with pleasure. — VNS