HÀ NỘI – Mozambique’s Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosario yesterday urged Vietnamese firms to engage more with his country in the fields of oil and gas, marine transport, and farm produce and seafood process in order to meet the trade targets set by the two countries’ leaders.

Rosario, who is paying an official visit to Việt Nam, made the appeal during his talks with Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc in Hà Nội.

The host described the visit as an important milestone in bilateral relations after the visit to Mozambique by former President Trương Tấn Sang in March 2016.

The two Government leaders expressed their satisfaction at the growing friendship between Việt Nam and Mozambique.

Regarding political ties, they agreed to maintain delegation exchanges at all levels while coordinating and supporting each other at international forums.

They discussed challenges in security, politics and economics along with regional and global issues of mutual concern. The two sides pledged to contribute to maintaining peace and cooperation in the region and beyond on the basis of respecting international law and addressing disputes via peaceful means and in line with international law.

PM Phúc proposed Mozambique support Việt Nam in becoming a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in the 2020-2021 tenure and the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in the 2017-2021 tenure.

Pertaining to trade, investment and development cooperation, the PMs expressed their pleasure at the effective operation of Movitel, a joint venture between Việt Nam’s military-run telecom group Viettel and Mozambique’s investment company SPI, as well as Việt Nam’s food crop development research cooperation project in Mozambique.

Mozambique is expected to become a leading partner of Việt Nam in the southern Sahara, while Việt Nam will serve as a bridge to connect Mozambique with the Southeast Asian region.

Việt Nam agreed to share more development experience with Mozambique in the fields of natural disaster prevention, weather forecasting, climate change adaptation, education-training, expert exchanges, and security-defence.

The Southeast Asian country asked Mozambique to make it easier for Vietnamese businesses to open  bonded warehouses, develop goods distribution channels, and improve the legal framework for foreign investors.

After the talks, the PMs witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on co-operation to protect and preserve wild flora and fauna and the initialling of an agreement on aviation transport services. — VNS