Vietnamese Ambassador to Belarus Nguyễn Văn Trung (left) and President Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko at the meeting in Minsk on Thursday. VNA/VNS Photo

MINSK — Belarus regards Việt Nam as one of its key partners in Asia and a growth driving force of the global economy, President Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko has affirmed.

At a ceremony to receive the credentials of Vietnamese Ambassador to Belarus Nguyễn Văn Trung in Minsk on September 11, President Lukashenko welcomed the diplomat, noting that he assumed his mission at an important juncture as the two countries have just elevated their ties to a strategic partnership.

He underscored the significance of such relations, particularly following the state visit to Belarus by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Tô Lâm in May this year.

The President reiterated Belarus’s commitment to fully implementing all strategic agreements and commitments reached at the highest level between the two sides, with hope for early, tangible, and practical outcomes of cooperation in the near future.

For his part, Trung stressed that Việt Nam has always considered Belarus an important partner in Europe. He reiterated Việt Nam’s gratitude for the solidarity, friendship, and spirit of mutual support offered by the Belarusian people throughout the development of bilateral relations.

The ambassador pledged to make every effort to foster traditional friendship and promote stronger ties for the benefit of both nations' people, as well as for peace, stability, and development in the region and the world.

On the occasion, Trung extended State President Lương Cường’s invitation to President Lukashenko to pay an official visit to Việt Nam at a suitable time.

The two countries established diplomatic relations in December 1991, shortly after Belarus declared its independence. Belarus opened its embassy in Hà Nội in 1998, while Việt Nam inaugurated its embassy in Minsk in October 2003. At present, over 600 Vietnamese people are living, studying, and working in Belarus. — VNS