Peruvian President Dina Ercilia Boluarte Zegarra hosts a welcome ceremony for State President Lương Cường in Lima on November 13 afternoon. — VNA/VNS Photo Lâm Khánh

LIMA — Peruvian President Dina Ercilia Boluarte Zegarra hosted a solemn welcome ceremony for State President Lương Cường and a high-ranking delegation from Việt Nam at the Government Palace (Casa de Pizarro) in Lima on Wednesday afternoon (local time).

This is the first-ever official visit to Peru by a Vietnamese State President. It takes place at a time when Việt Nam and Peru are celebrating their 30th anniversary of their diplomatic relations (November 14, 1994-2024). This is an important milestone, reflecting the positive development of bilateral relations from politics-diplomacy to economy-trade, a historic opportunity, and a driving force to further deepen the friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

Over the past three decades, despite the geographical distance, the two countries have made significant progress in promoting their political, diplomatic, economic, trade and investment relations. High-ranking leaders of the two sides have regularly held bilateral meetings and contacts on the occasion of attending international conferences. In addition, Việt Nam and Peru have established bilateral dialogue mechanisms, such as the political consultation at the deputy foreign minister level, the Intergovernmental Committee on Economic Affairs and Technical Cooperation at the deputy minister level. They have signed many agreements and memoranda of understanding on cooperation.

At multilateral forums, both Việt Nam and Peru are members of the United Nations, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC).

Regarding economic, trade and investment cooperation, Việt Nam always considers Peru one of Việt Nam's important partners and leading investment destinations in Latin America. Bilateral trade reached nearly US$500 million in 2023 and nearly $300 million in the first seven months of 2024. The Viettel Military Industry and Telecoms Group (Viettel) and the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group have two investment projects in Peru with a total capital of $1.24 billion.

After the official welcoming ceremony, the two Presidents had a private meeting and then held talks to discuss measures to consolidate the foundation of good political relations between the two countries, enhance the effectiveness of cooperation in potential areas, and lift the relationship to a new height.

On the morning of the same day, President Cường and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation laid a wreath at the monument dedicated to Peru's heroes in the Heroes of Independence Park in Lima. — VNS