Party General Secretary Tô Lâm (right) had talks with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Hà Nội on March 28. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The Vietnamese Party and State value Brazil as a key partner in Việt Nam's broader foreign policy in Latin America, and wish to deepen the newly-established Strategic Partnership between the two nations, said Party General Secretary Tô Lâm.

During a reception in Hà Nội on Friday for Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is visiting Việt Nam from March 27-29, the Party chief congratulated the Brazilian Government and people on their remarkable achievements under the leadership of President Lula da Silva and the Workers' Party of Brazil (PT).

He shared Việt Nam's vision and development direction for the coming years, highlighting the shift toward a sustainable and innovation-driven growth model. Key priorities include enhancing economic competitiveness, resilience, and self-reliance; advancing sci-tech, training a skilled workforce, building a modern and integrated socio-economic infrastructure system; and implementing a revolution to streamline its political system toward creating a lean, efficient, valid and effective structure.

The host praised the outcomes of the talks between President Lula da Silva and President Lương Cường, which culminated in the signing of the Action Plan for the Việt Nam-Brazil Strategic Partnership for 2025-30, alongside agreements spanning diplomacy, security, industry-trade, and cooperation between the two national football federations.

Their discussions explored new opportunities to further foster bilateral ties and leverage each country's strength and potential. The Party chief underlined the vast opportunities for collaboration in economy-trade, agriculture, energy, and national defence, while emphasising the importance of cultural, educational, and sports exchanges to deepen mutual understanding and friendship.

Describing Việt Nam as a close friend and an important partner in Asia, the Brazilian President expressed his joy at the strides made since the establishment of a comprehensive partnership during his first presidential term in 2007.

He lauded the recent upgrade to a Strategic Partnership in November 2024 and reaffirmed Brazil’s commitment to working closely with Việt Nam to materialise this new framework, along with high-level agreements and cooperation documents signed during his visit.

Both countries need to continue discussions to identify key products and sectors for mutually beneficial cooperation, toward achieving US$15 billion in trade turnover, he said.

The guest agreed to fortify collaboration with Việt Nam across all channels, including political parties, organisations, locality-to-locality and people-to-people connections, to build a strong foundation of public support for bilateral ties.

The two leaders also agreed on key directions to further reinforce the Strategic Partnership bilaterally and multilaterally, with a focus on the effective implementation of signed cooperation agreements across various channels.

The host also commended Brazil’s decision to recognise Việt Nam's market economy status and proposed joint efforts to advance negotiations on a preferential trade framework that connects Việt Nam with the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR). — VNA/VNS