State President Lương Cường receives President of the Socialist Party of Chile Paulina Vodanovic in Santiago on November 10. VNA/VNS Photo

SANTIAGO State President Lương Cường received President of the Socialist Party of Chile Paulina Vodanovic in Santiago on November 10 (local time) during his ongoing official visit to Chile.

Cường thanked the Chilean people and left-wing, peace-loving forces for supporting and standing in solidarity with Việt Nam in the past struggle for national independence and reunification, especially the Socialist Party of Chile's assistance for Việt Nam during the country's Đổi Mới (Renewal) under the leadership of the Communist Party of Việt Nam.

He highlighted the two countries and Parties’ similarities in the aspirations for freedom, independence, justice, equality, and social progress on the basis of a solid relationship, shared interests, and the potential to expand cooperation, supplement and support each other in the development process for the benefit of the people of each country, for peace, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.

Briefing the Socialist Party of Chile's leader of Việt Nam 's current situation, the Vietnamese State leader said that after nearly 40 years of persistently implementing the renewal policy, Việt Nam has achieved great and historic achievements, especially in economics, social security, national defence and security, building a socialist rule-of-law State, and promoting administrative and judicial reform, and anti-corruption.

He clarified that Việt Nam always pursues to a foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation and development, diversification and multilateralisation of relations, proactive and active international integration, being a friend, a reliable partner and an active and responsible member of the international community, in which Việt Nam always attaches importance to developing a comprehensive and modern diplomacy based on three pillars of party diplomacy, State diplomacy and people diplomacy, creating a framework for stable and sustainable relations with partners.

Việt Nam aims for proactive, active comprehensive and extensive international integration, contributing to the process of building and shaping multilateral and regional institutions, especially ASEAN, the United Nations, as well as regional, inter-regional and Mekong sub-region cooperation mechanisms, he stated.

Cường underlined that Việt Nam wishes to cooperate with traditional friends in Latin America, especially with Chile, an important country that plays a leading role in regional integration and regional connectivity and with an increasingly important role in global issues.

He said he hopes that in the coming time, the two Parties will strengthen close coordination and effectively implement their cooperation agreement, while continuing to consolidate high-level trust and the foundation of political relations as the basis and orientation for the development of comprehensive cooperation between the two countries, especially in areas where both sides have strengths.

Cường emphasised that the two sides need to continue to support, encourage and create conditions to promote the implementation of bilateral cooperation mechanisms as well as agreements and action plans between the two countries, focus on enhancing collaboration in areas where both sides have needs and potential such as security-defence, science-technology, green development, digital transformation, and renewable energy to create motivation for the their trade and investment between the two countries.

Two countries’ governments need to coordinate closely at international forums, especially at the United Nations, while facilitating and promote people-to-people exchanges to increase mutual understanding, thus creating a premise for maintaining and further promoting traditional friendship and cooperation between the two countries’ people, he said.

He expressed his belief that with the Socialist Party of Chile’s attention and joint efforts, the relationship between the two Parties and the two countries will develop more strongly and substantially.

For her part, President of the Socialist Party of Chile Vodanovic expressed her pleasure to welcome President Cườn and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, underlining that the visit is of important significance in promoting relations between the two countries and between the two parties in particular.

She said that immediately after being elected in 1971, President Salvador Allende decided to establish diplomatic relations with Việt Nam and became the first South American country to set up diplomatic ties with the Southeast Asian nation.

Vodanovic described the good friendship which has always been preserved and growing, especially in recent years, as a basis for the two countries to continue expanding cooperation in across economic, political, diplomatic and cultural fields.

She said she hopes Việt Nam will share experiences in areas that the two countries are interested in, such as social security, security and safety for people, and at the same time she wishes to cooperate with Vietnam in the issues of illegal immigration and anti-crime.

She affirmed with its role, the Socialist Party of Chile will continue to preserve and build the good traditional friendship between the two countries. VNS