Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in Rio de Janeiro. Photos courtesy of Government Portal

RIO DE JANEIRO — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính met with a host of world leaders and the head of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Sunday (local time) on the sidelines of the expanded BRICS Summit.

At a meeting with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, PM Chính congratulated India on its recent achievements and growing role on the global stage, particularly within the BRICS bloc. PM Modi, in turn, described Chính as a close friend of India.

Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính and Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

In discussions with Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, PM Chính expressed Việt Nam’s desire to boost bilateral cooperation and conveyed an invitation from Vietnamese leaders to Tinubu to visit Việt Nam soon. President Tinubu affirmed Nigeria’s strong interest in enhancing ties with Việt Nam, calling the latter a key partner in Southeast Asia.

Both leaders agreed to advance economic, trade and investment ties while reinforcing collaboration in other potential fields like energy, mining, sustainable resource management, infrastructure development and climate change response.

Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính meets with Ugandan Vice President Jessica Rose Epel Alupo in Rio de Janeiro.

Separately, PM Chính met with Ugandan Vice President Jessica Rose Epel Alupo, affirming Việt Nam consistently attaches importance to its friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Uganda and views the nations as a priority partner in Africa.

Alupo lauded Việt Nam’s socio-economic progress and called for deeper economic and trade ties, particularly in agricultural processing, coffee production, and mining. She invited Vietnamese companies to invest in these areas in Uganda. Both leaders also agreed on concrete steps to advance the countries' partnership.

In a conversation with First Deputy Chairman of the Senate of Uzbekistan Sodiq Solihovich Safoyev, the Government leader stressed Việt Nam’s wish for stronger friendship with Uzbekistan and invited leaders to visit Việt Nam in the near future.

Safoyev, in response, expressed interest in a near-term visit and stressed the need for more high-level exchanges to bolster relations.

Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính in a conversation with Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov.

The Vietnamese leader also hosted the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, with both sides reaffirming the principles and major orientations for deepening the traditional friendship and comprehensive strategic partnership between Việt Nam and Russia.

They agreed to effectively realise the agreements reached during the Russia visit by Party General Secretary Tô Lâm in May, focusing on all-level mutual visits, coordination in investment, trade, transport, e-commerce, labour, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, tourism and people-to-people exchange.

Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính meets with WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in Rio de Janeiro.

During his meeting with WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, PM Chính affirmed that Việt Nam highly values the WTO’s pivotal role in advancing global trade liberalisation, and its ongoing reform aimed at improving its operations in a changing global environment.

Okonjo-Iweala praised Việt Nam’s active engagement within the WTO framework and its consistent stance on global integration, appreciating the country’s support for the WTO's central role in promoting the multilateral trading system. — VNS