Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính (second from left) and President of the Dominican Republic Luis Abinader Corona witness the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the Diplomatic Academy of Việt Nam and the Diplomatic and Consular of the Dominican Republic. VNA/VNS Photo

SANTO DOMINGO – Việt Nam and the Dominican Republic have issued a Joint Statement on an official visit by Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính to the Latin American country on November 19-21.

The visit aims to strengthen diplomatic relations, reinforce friendship and cooperation in various fields, and promote opportunities to enhance trade and investment activities between the two countries.

In the joint statement, the two sides appreciated the strong and enduring friendship between Việt Nam and the Dominican Republic since the establishment of their diplomatic relations on July 7, 2005. This relationship was strengthened by the decision of the Dominican Republic Government to officially open an embassy in Hà Nội on February 25, 2023.

They emphasised the significance of Chính's visit to the Dominican Republic to bilateral relations as the first official visit by a Vietnamese Prime Minister to the Latin American country, serving as a key milestone in enhancing the ties between the Governments and people of both nations.

They underscored the significance of preserving and promoting the value of the President Hồ Chí Minh Monument in Santo Domingo and the monument in Hà Nội dedicated to Professor Juan Bosch, the first President of the Dominican Republic, lauding them as symbols of the bilateral solidarity and friendship.

President Luis Abinader and Prime Minister Chính reiterated their commitment to furthering high-level dialogue to guide the development of bilateral relations through the organisation of official visits and regular political consultations between the two countries.

Chính conveyed an invitation from Việt Nam's top leaders for Luis Abinader to visit Việt Nam at an appropriate time. The latter expressed his sincere thanks and gladly accepted the invitation.

The two countries emphasised the potential for cooperation in key areas such as trade, manufacturing, investment, agriculture, energy, telecommunications, digital transformation, construction, education and training, culture, and tourism.

Both sides agreed on the importance of enhancing trade and investment promotion and business connectivity activities, and creating conditions for their products to access each other's markets, viewing them as gateways to the broader Southeast Asian and Caribbean markets.

The two leaders affirmed their commitments to promoting multilateralism, enhancing cooperation, and supporting each other in international organisations and multilateral forums of which both are members, such as the United Nations, the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the South-South cooperation framework, and the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC).

The two sides welcomed the signing of important bilateral agreements, including the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two Governments on the establishment of a Joint Committee for trade promotion and technical cooperation, as well as the MoU on cooperation between the Diplomatic Academy of Việt Nam (DAV) and the Institute of Higher Education in Diplomatic and Consular Training of the Dominican Republic (INESDYC).

They expressed their intention to initiate negotiations for the early signing of other key bilateral agreements, including a tourism cooperation agreement, cultural and educational cooperation agreements, and to start the intersectoral consultation process for negotiating an investment promotion and protection agreement.

At the same time, both sides welcomed the first-ever dialogue between the business communities of the two countries, which helps open up new opportunities for bilateral trade and investment.

They also acknowledged the significance of PM Chính’s policy speech on the bilateral relationship at the INESDYC.

Both sides highlighted the importance of strengthening cooperation between the legislative bodies, and local authorities, and promoting people-to-people exchanges, which will contribute to solidifying the long-standing friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

Finally, President Luis Abinader and Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính stressed the significance of the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic relations in 2025. Both sides agreed to promote activities to celebrate this milestone, viewing it as a symbol of the friendship between their people. VNS