Politburo member, Permanent member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat Trần Cẩm Tú meets Révérien Ndikuriyo, Secretary General of Burundi’s National Council for the Defence of Democracy–Forces for the Defence of Democracy in Hà Nội on Wednesday. — VNA/VNS Photo Phương Hoa

HÀ NỘI — Politburo member, Permanent member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat Trần Cẩm Tú met and discussed political cooperation with Révérien Ndikuriyo, Secretary General of Burundi’s National Council for the Defence of Democracy–Forces for the Defence of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) in Hà Nội on Wednesday.

Speaking at the meeting, Tú said the Communist Party of Việt Nam (CPV) always appreciates and wishes to expand its external relations with fraternal political parties in Africa, including CNDD-FDD.

He expressed his hope that the visit would consolidate political trust, friendship and substantive cooperation between the two parties and countries.

Commending Burundi’s socio-economic and foreign relations gains under the CNDD-FDD’s leadership, he congratulated Ndikuriyo on his re-election as Secretary-General for the 2026-31 tenure, and sent his congratulations to CNDD-FDD President and Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye on being selected as the party’s candidate for the May 2027 presidential election.

Welcoming the positive momentum in bilateral ties, particularly since the Burundian President’s official visit to Việt Nam in April 2025, the host proposed that the two parties quickly follow the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation recently signed at the talks between Ndikuriyo and Politburo member and Minister of Foreign Affairs Lê Hoài Trung.

"The two sides should also step up the exchanges of delegations at all levels, personnel training and experience sharing in socio-economic development, poverty reduction, Party building and rectification, and political system construction," he said.

On the economic front, the Vietnamese official thanked Ndikuriyo for directly backing Lumitel - Viettel Group’s telecom joint venture in Burundi, and urged the CNDD-FDD and Burundian Government to continue giving full support to Lumitel and other Vietnamese firms so they can operate effectively and make tangible contributions to bilateral relations.

Ndikuriyo, for his part, conveyed greetings from CNDD-FDD President and Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye to General Secretary of the CPV Central Committee and State President To Lam, the host, and other Vietnamese Party and State leaders.

Calling Việt Nam's achievements under the CPV leadership a model and inspiration for Burundi and the CNDD-FDD, Ndikuriyo said the country is looking to Vietnam as it pursues national construction and its Vision 2040-60, which targets high-income status by 2060.

He expressed his delight at the tightening of relations between the two ruling parties and stressed that the Burundian Party, State and Government want to expand cooperation across various sectors, especially investment, science and technology, and agriculture. 

Noting that Burundi holds the African Union (AU) chairmanship for 2026-27, Ndikuriyo said the country is ready to act as a bridge for Việt Nam to strengthen ties with the AU and take part in the bloc’s cooperation models, initiatives and agenda.

The two leaders agreed to hold more delegation exchanges among socio-political organisations to cement political trust and uphold the two parties’ guiding roles in driving bilateral cooperation.

They also agreed on the need to push relevant agencies to advance negotiations and sign bilateral cooperation documents and agreements, notably a double taxation avoidance agreement and an investment promotion and protection pact. — VNA/VNS