Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm (l) and Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embaló review the guard of honour of the Vietnam People's Army at the welcome ceremony held for the latter in Hà Nội on Friday. VNA/VNS Photo

 HÀ NỘI — Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm and his spouse on Friday presided over an official welcome ceremony for Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and his spouse, who are on an official visit to Việt Nam from September 5-8.

This is the first visit to Việt Nam by a President of Guinea-Bissau since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1973. The visit aims to lay a foundation for deepening bilateral cooperation across various fields.

Following the ceremony, the two leaders held talks, reviewed the recent cooperation between Việt Nam and Guinea-Bissau, and proposed future directions for bilateral collaboration.

Việt Nam's foreign policy has always emphasised the importance of traditional friendships and a wish to develop multifaceted cooperation with African nations, including Guinea-Bissau. This serves as a crucial foundation for the two countries to build political trust and foster cooperation serving mutual development.

Regarding Việt Nam as a priority partner in its foreign policy, the Government of Guinea-Bissau is willing to expand practical and effective collaboration with Việt Nam across all fields in the years to come.

Currently, trade is the main area of bilateral economic cooperation. Việt Nam is Guinea-Bissau's third-largest export market, while the latter has been one of the former’s top five African suppliers of raw cashew nuts for many years. In 2023, their total bilateral trade turnover neared 170 million USD, with Việt Nam mainly exporting rice and textiles and importing raw cashew nuts.

The two countries signed an agreement on cultural, economic, scientific, technical, and trade cooperation in 1994 and a memorandum of understanding on trade and industrial cooperation between the Việt Nam ese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Guinea-Bissau ministry for trade, industry, and promotion of local products in 2014. VNS