Vietnamese Ambassador to Venezuela and Colombia Vũ Trung Mỹ (left) presents credentials to Colombian President Gustavo Petro Urrego. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam should open its embassy in Colombia soon to promote bilateral cooperation, especially in the fields of economy and trade, to match the relationship and existing potential between the two countries, Colombian President Gustavo Petro Urrego has said.

The Colombian President made the suggestion at a reception on November 8 (local time) for Vietnamese Ambassador to Venezuela and Colombia Vũ Trung Mỹ.

While presenting Vietnamese President Võ Văn Thưởng's credentials to the Colombian leader, Mỹ said Việt Nam and Colombia should continue to promote economic, trade and investment cooperation to be on par with their solid political relations, including the effective implementation of a Memorandum of Understanding on trade, investment and industry cooperation as well as the plan proposed at the first meeting of the Việt Nam-Colombia Joint Economic Committee in late September this year.

He took this occasion to convey regards of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Central Committee Nguyễn Phú Trọng, President Võ Văn Thưởng, and Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính to President Gustavo Petro Urrego.

The ambassador reaffirmed Việt Nam's consistent policy of constantly promoting relations with the Latin American nation on three pillars - Party diplomacy, State diplomacy and people-to-people diplomacy.

The Vietnamese diplomat suggested the two countries strengthen their coordination in organising activities to celebrate the 45th founding anniversary of Việt Nam-Colombia diplomatic ties in 2024, including the exchange of high-ranking delegations.

He promised to do his utmost to contribute to promoting friendship relations and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries.

Earlier, Ambassador Vũ Trung Mỹ presented a copy of the credentials to Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Coy and had meetings with representatives of the Chamber of Representatives, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, and the Ministry of Culture of Colombia.

Colombia is one of Việt Nam's most important partners in Latin America, with two-way trade maintaining high growth throughout recent global turmoil. In 2022, the two-way trade hit US$742 million, up 11.4 per cent year-on-year, and doubling within five years from 2018. Colombia is Việt Nam's 5th largest trading partner in Latin America. — VNS