Minister of Foreign Affairs Lê Hoài Trung meets Uruguayan Deputy Foreign Minister Valeria Csukasi Cabrera in Hà Nội on Monday. — VNA/VNS Photo An Đăng

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam attaches importance to its traditional friendship with Uruguay and stands ready to work with the South American country to deepen bilateral ties and expand inter-regional cooperation, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lê Hoài Trung told Uruguayan Deputy Foreign Minister Valeria Csukasi Cabrera on Monday.

At a reception for the Uruguayan official, who is on a working visit to Việt Nam from August 16-18, Trung spoke highly of her delegation’s efforts to concretise the bilateral agenda and deepen ties.

He stated that Việt Nam highly values Uruguay’s role, position, and contributions to the regional and international communities, as well as the achievements the country has made under the administration of President Yamandú Orsi.

He expressed satisfaction with the development of bilateral relations, particularly high-level exchanges, bilateral cooperation mechanisms, and mutual support at multilateral forums, as well as the rapid growth of bilateral trade, which he noted remains below potential.

He called on the two sides to coordinate in preparing for high-level delegation exchanges; strengthen Party-to-Party ties and relations between the legislative bodies, and ministries and agencies; and enhance information sharing and business connectivity to translate political will and cooperation potential into tangible outcomes.

The Vietnamese official suggested the two countries make better use of their roles as bridges and support each other in strengthening ties with regional institutions, including the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and as gateways linking Southeast Asia and Latin America.

For her part, Valeria stated that Uruguay attaches special importance to strengthening its strategic-level relations with Việt Nam amid a complex and unpredictable global environment.

She expressed full support for Trung’s orientations and affirmed Uruguay’s readiness to work with Việt Nam toward upgrading bilateral relations through concrete steps, while closely coordinating with Việt Nam on inter-regional cooperation.

The Uruguayan official expressed a desire to tighten ties between the parliaments, business communities and trade promotion agencies of the two nations, while further promoting cooperation in combating transnational crime, as well as in culture and sports, particularly football, to foster friendship between the two countries' people.

Trung took the occasion to send his greetings and regards to Uruguayan Foreign Minister Mario Lubetkin, expressing his confidence in the strong development of Việt Nam-Uruguay relations in the coming period.

During her visit, Valeria held a working session with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Đặng Hoàng Giang on measures to advance bilateral cooperation in politics and diplomacy, trade and investment, multilateral affairs, culture, education, tourism and sports; and their view on regional and international issues of common concern.

She also met with the Chairwoman of the Việt Nam-Uruguay Friendship Parliamentarians' Group and officials from the Ministries of Public Security; Industry and Trade; and Agriculture and Environment, as well as representatives of Vietnamese businesses. — VNA/VNS