Uruguay considers Vietnam strategic partner

Montevideo (VNA) - A senior Uruguayan government official said his
country considers Vietnam a strategic partner and will make further efforts to expand bilateral trade between the two countries.

Deputy Foreign Minister Pedro Vaz Ramela made the statement during a meeting
jointly held in the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo on August 10 by the
Uruguayan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Vietnamese Embassy in
Argentina and Uruguay to mark the 15 th anniversary of the
Vietnam-Uruguay diplomatic ties.

The Deputy Foreign Minister spotlighted Uruguay's policy to further
coordination with Vietnam at international forums after it supported Vietnam's
bids to joint the World Trade Organisation and gain a non-permanent seat at
the United Nations Security Council.

At the meeting, Vietnamese Ambassador Thai Van Lung said political,
economic-trade and cultural relations between the two countries have entered
a new development stage after the visit to Vietnam by President Tabare
Vazquez late last year.

During the visit, the first ever by a Uruguayan President, the two countries
reached a framework agreement on cooperation and a memorandum of
understanding on consultation between the two ministries of foreign affairs,
laying a legal foundation for both sides to increase friendship and
cooperation.

To mark the day 15 years ago when the two countries set up their diplomatic
ties (August 11, 1993-2008), the Vietnamese Embassy published a special
bulletin on the Vietnam-Uruguay relations and organised an exhibition of
Vietnamese fine art articles and industrial products at the Uruguayan
Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Statistics released by the Uruguayan Chamber of Commerce and Services showed
that the South American country earned close to 23 million USD from exports
to Vietnam while importing from it 4 million USD worth of products,
representing an year-on-year increase of 83 percent and 76 percent,
respectively.-