Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính and his spouse were welcomed at Doha International Airport on the arrival by Qatari Minister of State Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Sayed and Director of the Department of Protocol at the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ibrahim Yousuf Abdullah Fakhro. — Photo from the Việt Nam Government Portal

 DOHA — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính, his spouse, and a high-ranking delegation of Việt Nam arrived at Doha International Airport on October 30 evening, beginning a three-day official visit to Qatar at the invitation of his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jasim Al-Thani.

The leader and his entourage were greeted at the airport by Qatari Minister of State Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Sayed and Director of the Department of Protocol at the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ibrahim Yousuf Abdullah Fakhro, along with Vietnamese Ambassador to Qatar Nguyễn Huy Hiệp, and representatives of the Vietnamese community in the countries. 

Qatar is the final stop on PM Chính's trip to three Middle East countries. This marks the first official visit by a Vietnamese Prime Minister to Qatar in 15 years and comes at a time when the bilateral relations are flourishing, yielding numerous tangible results. However, both sides have recognised that there remains significant potential to further enhance bilateral cooperation, particularly in promising areas such as politics-diplomacy, economy, energy, tourism, and labour.

Therefore, the visit aims to promote the relationship in a more comprehensive and effective fashion, particularly in market opening, high-quality investment attraction, and cooperation in labour, education, culture, sports, tourism, people-to-people exchange, and climate change response, as well as emerging fields like science -technology, clean energy, digital transformation, innovation, and the Halal industry.

Việt Nam and Qatar officially established their diplomatic relations on February 8, 1993. Over the past 30 years, thanks to the efforts of high-ranking leaders and people of both countries, their multifaceted cooperation has seen significant developments in various fields.

Last year, two-way trade enjoyed a year-on-year surge of 32 per cent to US$497.2 million. Việt Nam's main imports included gas, plastics, and chemicals, while its key exports were aquatic products, electrical wires and cables, wooden products, and bamboo products. — VNA/VNS