Minister of Foreign Affairs Lê Hoài Trung and Minister in charge of the General Secretariat of the Mauritanian Government, Moctar Al Housseynou LAM. — VNA/VNS Photo An Đăng

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam treasures its traditional friendship with African countries, including Mauritania, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lê Hoài Trung told the Minister in charge of the General Secretariat of the Mauritanian Government, Moctar Al Housseynou LAM, at their meeting in Hà Nội on Thursday.

Trung congratulated Mauritania on its recent strides, highlighting its push to diversify the economy, lift living standards and its successful term as Chair of the African Union (AU) for the 2024-25 term.

He proposed the two nations step up the exchanges of all-level delegations, especially those at the high level, and establish a political consultation mechanism between their foreign ministries.

Việt Nam has highly qualified experts in agriculture, education and healthcare, while Vietnamese companies carry deep experience investing in mining, telecoms and oil and gas across Africa, Trung said, calling those strengths a solid platform for wider cooperation.

Moctar LAM, for his part, expressed delight at his first visit to Việt Nam.

He conveyed a message from Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani to the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Central Committee and State President Tô Lâm.

Expressing his admiration for Việt Nam's socio-economic accomplishments and praising the close coordination at multilateral forums, Moctar LAM affirmed that Mauritania attaches importance to its relationship with Việt Nam, believing that his visit would usher in a new phase of the bilateral ties.

Agreeing with Trung's proposals, he vowed to encourage relevant Mauritanian ministries and agencies, particularly the foreign ministry, to work closely with their Vietnamese counterparts to achieve concrete outcomes in the bilateral relations.

Noting that both nations have long coastlines, he suggested exploring cooperation in sustainable aquaculture.

The two officials agreed to continue their long-standing coordination at multilateral forums, including the Francophonie, while reinforcing practical collaboration with regional organisations such as ASEAN and the AU, for the benefit of their people and for peace, stability and development in their respective regions and globally. — VNA/VNS