Brazil supports Vietnam’s presence in G-20 meetings as the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Brazil’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Celso Amorim made the statement while hosting visiting Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh on May 10.
At the meeting, Mr Amorim congratulated Vietnam’s great achievements in its development process and its increasing prestige and position in the international arena.
Mr Amorim affirmed that Vietnam and Brazil have favourable conditions to increase cooperative relations in all fields, especially in trade and investment, to meet the two peoples’ aspirations and interests.
During his visit to Brazil starting on May 9, Mr Minh met with his counterpart Roberto Jaguaribe and Deputy Minister of Industry Development and Foreign Trade Ivan Ramalho and Chairman of the Brazil-Vietnam Chamber of Commerce Rui Barreto.
At these meetings, the two sides informed each other of the situation in each country and agreed that bilateral ties have made strides in all fields over the past years and agreed to accelerate preparations for the second session of the joint committee in Hanoi in 2011 and complete negotiations to sign new cooperation agreements (first and foremost is a framework agreement on technical cooperation and other cooperation agreements on agriculture and education).
The Brazil side said that they would send a delegation of government officials and leading entrepreneurs to Vietnam in the second half of this year in a bid to establish a partnership and tap long-term business and investment opportunities in Vietnam.
In spite of suffering from the negative impact of the global economic and financial crisis, two-way trade between the two countries still, reached over US$564 million last year. The figure is expected to top US$1 billion in the next few years.
Source: VNA