HÀ NỘI — Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov on Wednesday made his first official visit to Việt Nam, attending the conference “25 years of Việt Nam-Azerbaijan relations: Achievements and future objectives.”

Speaking at the conference, co-organised by Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Diplomatic Academy of Việt Nam, the minister said that the relations between Việt Nam and Azerbaijan have deep roots, as the collaboration and friendship started long before the restoration of Azerbaijan’s independence.

“Việt Nam-Azerbaijan relations have been constantly consolidating, developing and offering numerous opportunities to expand co-operation within the framework of international organisations, including the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement,” he said.

Nguyễn Vũ Tùng, president of the Diplomatic Academy of Việt Nam, said that the two countries officially established diplomatic relations on September 23, 1992, but the friendship actually originated decades ago when President Hồ Chi Minh visited Azerbaijan in 1959. He asked for help in setting up oil production and providing education and training for potential Vietnamese petrol specialists.

The relations kept strengthening following State visits by leaders of the two countries, including the visit of Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev to Việt Nam in May 2014 and the visit by Việt Nam’s former president Trương Tấn Sang to Azerbaijan in 2015.

Early this year, the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic, Trade, Scientific and Technical Co-operation was established, marking an important step for further enhancement of bilateral co-operation.

Bùi Thanh Sơn, Deputy Foreign Minister, said that the Vietnamese remembered and were grateful for what Azerbaijan has done for Việt Nam.

Azerbaijan’s universities helped train and provide Việt Nam good human resources, particularly in the fields of energy and oil production.

More than 4,000 Vietnamese students have studied in Azerbaijan and many of them made great contributions to national defence and construction. Many also now occupy key positions in State and Governmental agencies.

Sơn said that in the first half of this year, two-way trade between Việt Nam and Azerbaijan reached US$ 114 million, as much as double during the same period last year. But he noted this figure did not represent the two countries’ potential and expectations.

Việt Nam could offer Azerbaijan farming products, handicrafts and electrical components while Azerbaijan could help Việt Nam in oil refineries, education and high technologies, he said, adding that Việt Nam wanted to make oil production a key area of industrial co-operation between the two countries.

He said that he expected that the two countries could overcome difficulties in geographic distance, lack of business channels and differences in business models in order to achieve further co-operation. — VNS