BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

08/04/2008

Vietnam, Belarus agree to boost co-op

Vietnam and Belarus agreed to further expand bilateral cooperation in industry by settling joint ventures to manufacture and assemble MAZ lorries, diesel machines, dynamos, tractors and heavy trucks in Vietnam, Vietnam News Agency reported Monday.

Vietnamese State President Nguyen Minh Triet and his visiting Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko reached the consensus during their talks in the capital of Hanoi on Monday.

The two presidents also agreed to boost cooperation in culture, education and training, oil and gas, agriculture, banking, consular affairs, tourism, healthcare and labor.

"Vietnam always attaches importance to the consolidation and development of its relationship with Belarus and other traditional friends while implementing its external policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification and multi-lateralization and active regional and international integration," affirmed Triet.

Lukashenko spoke highly of Vietnam's renewal achievements as well as its rising position in the region and the world.

The two presidents discussed orientations and measures to further accelerate the friendship and multi-faceted cooperation between Vietnam and Belarus, especially in economics and trade. They noted that apart from fine political relations, bilateral economic and trade ties have developed strongly but still not matched with their potentials.

Both sides also discussed regional and international issues of mutual concern, affirmed the importance of diplomatic exchanges and praised the non-aligned stance in the current international relationship.

After the talks, Triet and Lukashenko signed a Vietnam-Belarus joint communique and witnessed the signing of nine cooperative pacts.

Prominent among the documents inked were a consular agreement between Vietnam and Belarus, and the accords on cooperation and mutual support in the customs service and on epidemic quarantine and vegetation protection between the two governments.

The others included an audit agreement between the Vietnam Government Inspectorate and the Belarus State Inspection Committee, a cooperation pact on sports and tourism between the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Belarusian Ministry of Sports and Tourism.

The Vietnam Oil and Gas Group signed a frame agreement on oil, gas and petrochemical industries with the Belarus National Petrochemical Consortium, while the Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development reached a cooperation agreement with the Belarus Saving Joint Stock Bank.

Source:

http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/6388146.html

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