Belarusian Ambassador to Vietnam Uladzimir Baravikou. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko’s official visit from December 6 to 9 holds special importance as it will affirm Việt Nam's key role as one of the important partners of the Eastern European country in Southeast Asia, said Belarusian Ambassador to Việt Nam Uladzimir Baravikou.

In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency, Baravikou said the visit, to bemade at the invitation of PM Phạm Minh Chính, will be the first to Việt Nam by a Belarusian leader after the COVID-19 pandemic. The resumption of high-level political ties is of great significance.

He said Việt Nam is highly crucial in his country’s foreign policy as it is a dynamic economy based on modern technology, has an increasing population, and boasts a potential and promising market along with an effective foreign investment attraction system.

With its impressive successes in socio-economic development and the growing stature in the international arena, Việt Nam can help Belarus expand cooperation to across Southeast Asia, he continued.

Belarus is highly interested in expanding and enhancing cooperation with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), particularly in trade and economy, the ambassador noted, describing this region as a promising destination for farm produce, machinery, equipment and other goods from his country.

He believes that Việt Nam can substantially contribute to the expansion of Belarus’s partnerships with ASEAN members.

PM Golovchenko’s visit will send a clear signal to all the partners interested in establishing mutually beneficial cooperative ties. It will affirm the two countries’ common interests in further strengthening and developing comprehensive cooperation for the sake of both countries.

Baravikou expressed his belief that thanks to shared efforts, the two countries will weather every difficulty and obstacle on the path to a new level of their relations.

Looking back on bilateral ties during the past more than 30 years, he said Belarus and Việt Nam have taken a long path of developing win-win relations which have reached a high level of political communication.

Many joint projects have been carried out in various spheres, from defence, security, trade, investment to science, culture, education, sports, and tourism. Connections between the two countries’ regions have been set up. Parliamentary links have also been reinforced while parliamentary friendship groups taken shape. Besides, hundreds of Vietnamese students are enrolling on courses at Belarusian universities.

Since the pandemic ended, inter-sectoral collaboration has been growing considerably. Aside from about 20 mutual visits between law enforcement bodies of both countries in 2022 and 2023, the Belarusian culture and education days were also held in Việt Nam and new cooperation deals signed this year.

There are now more than 90 agreements between the two countries, providing legal frameworks for bilateral relations. Some documents are being prepared and could be inked during this time’s visit to Việt Nam by PM Golovchenko, according to the diplomat.

He highlighted Belarusian and Vietnamese partners’ shared attention at different levels to maintaining and reinforcing mutually beneficial ties.

It is important that both sides understand each other’s demand and interests to create new opportunities for advancing their relations, he added. VNS

Room for growth in exports The Việt Nam-Belarus relationship is developing strongly, and the two countries boast potential to expand their cooperation in many fields, said Chairman of the Council of Experts of the Eurasian Research Fund Grigory Trofimchuk told Vietnam News Agency ahead of Belarusian PM's trip.Trofimchuk said Việt Nam has maintained its relations with almost countries of the former Soviet Union, including Belarus, noting the bilateral political and economic ties have been developing at different levels.The two countries have held many discussions recently on ways to strengthen the collaboration, the expert added.He said Belarus is working hard to access the Southeast Asian market, and Việt Nam would serve as a bridge between the country and the region.Trofimchuk suggested the two countries cooperate in such areas as chemistry, agriculture, auto industry, and health care, adding many big Belarusian firms have maintained their good relations with Việt Nam.