Overview of President Quang’s State visit to Ethiopia

Thứ Bảy, 25/08/2018, 14:52
President Tran Dai Quang and his wife paid a State visit to Ethiopia over August 23-25 at the invitation of Ethiopian President Mulatu Teshome.
On the morning of August 23, President Quang and his wife left Hanoi for State visit to Ethiopia from August 23-25. This is the first trip to Ethiopia by a head of State of Vietnam since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1976. It is expected to create a historical milestone in the bilateral relations and open up investment and trade cooperation prospects in the years to come. Pictured is the aircraft carrying President Quang and his entourage landing at Bole International Airport.

 The visit to Ethiopia aims to affirm Vietnam’s persistent pursuance of its foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation, and diversification of international relations. The country has always placed importance on enhancing traditional friendship with African countries in general, and Ethiopia in particular. Photographed are Ethiopian children presenting flowers to President Quang at Bole International Airport.

 A solemn welcome ceremony for President Quang was held at the airport.

President Quang and Ethiopian President inspected the guard of honour.
The Presidents of Vietnam, Ethiopia hold talks on situations in the region and their respective nation as well as orientations and measures to further strengthen bilateral cooperation.
At the end of the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of cooperation documents, including a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on investment cooperation between the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ethiopian Investment Commission, an agreement on visa exemption for diplomatic and official passport holders and an MoU on cooperation between the two ministries of foreign affairs. 
The signing ceremony of the MoU on investment cooperation between the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ethiopian Investment Commission.
At a press conference after their talks,  the two State leaders said that they discussed all aspects of cooperation and reached high consensus on measures to enhance political tied and expand connections in economy, agriculture, telecommunications, aviation, culture and tourism. They considered economic partnership as the foundation for developing bilateral cooperation in a substantive fashion.
President Quang met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in Addis Ababa.
PM Abiy Ahmed expressed hope that Vietnam will assist his country in human resources training and share experience in agriculture, which is the main cooperation orientation in the coming time.
President Quang met with Speaker of Ethiopia’s House of Federation Keria Ibrahim.
President Quang proposed that Ethiopia’s House of Federation support and encourage the open policies of its government, creating favourable conditions for Vietnamese firms to seek cooperation and investment opportunities in the country, particularly in areas that play to Vietnam’s strengths and experience.
President Quang told his host that Vietnam has already enjoyed fruitful agricultural cooperation with some African countries including Guinea, Benin, Mozambique, and Angola. He suggested the two sides consider the implementation of a tripartite partnership or the public-private partnership model in agriculture.
President Quang visited the African Union (AU) headquarters and held talks with Acting President of the African Union (AU) Amira Elfadil Mohammed Elfadil .The AU leader extolled cooperation between African countries and Vietnam in priority areas such as processing, agriculture, mining and tourism and wished that Vietnam will act as a bridge connecting with Asia, particularly Southeast Asia.

 The AU leader thanked Vietnam for supporting the people of African countries via telecommunications technology and affirmed the AU’s willingness to cooperate with Vietnam at multilateral forums, especially in the framework of the UN and the Francophonie. Pictured is President Quang writing a souvenir book at the AU headquarters.

President Quang’s wife Nguyen Thi  Hien presented gifts to patients at Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia Foundation.
Established in 1974, Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia foundation is a registered charitable organisation in Ethiopia dedicated to the treatment and prevention of childbirth injuries called obstetric fistulas. Thousands of people in Ethiopia have contracted the disease.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Industry and Trade in coordination with Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs co-chaired a Vietnam-Ethiopia Business roundtable meeting with the participation of more than 300 businesses from both nations.

VOV