VN attaches importance to developing relations with Uruguay: Deputy PM

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh receives Uruguayan Deputy FM Ariel Bergamino, Ha Noi, August 29, 2019

During his reception for Uruguayan Deputy FM Ariel Bergamino in Ha Noi on August 29, Politburo member Minh said Viet Nam-Uruguay relations are growing finely through the exchange of high-level delegations, including official visits to Viet Nam made by the President and the Foreign Minister of Uruguay.

He welcomed the two sides’ maintenance of cooperation mechanisms, such as the Joint Committee on economic, trade and investment cooperation and the political consultation between the two Foreign Ministries.

The Deputy PM thanked Uruguay for having supported Viet Nam to become a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, voicing his wish for the enhanced coordination between the two countries at international forums, such as the UN, the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the Non-Aligned Movement.

As the ASEAN Chair 2020, Viet Nam will strive to accelerate ASEAN’s relations with regional organizations, including the South American Common Market (Mercosur), he affirmed.

He suggested the two sides make greater efforts to increase two-way trade, which currently stands at only US$100 million, especially as Viet Nam and Mercosur have already signed free trade agreements with the European Union.

For his part, Uruguayan Deputy FM Ariel Bergamino congratulated Viet Nam on becoming a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council with a high number of votes, expressing his belief that Viet Nam gathers sufficient factors to successfully assume such an important position.

The guest voiced his wish that in its new role as the ASEAN Chair 2020, Viet Nam would work to facilitate Uruguay’s relations with ASEAN as a whole, as well as with each ASEAN member country in particular.

Earlier on the same day, Uruguayan Deputy FM Ariel Bergamino and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Quoc Dung co-chaired the 3^rd political consultation at the deputy ministerial level between the two Foreign Ministries.

 By Vien Nhu