Vice President of Vietnam meets leaders of Uganda, UN, Iran

Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan had meetings with President of Uganda Yoweri Museveni, Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres, and First Vice President of Iran Mohammad Mokhber in Kampala on January 20.

The events took place on the sidelines of the 19th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in the capital city of Uganda.

At their meeting, the Ugandan and Vietnamese leaders discussed concrete directions for developing the two countries’ cooperation in all fields in a result-oriented manner.

In terms of politics - diplomacy, they affirmed the importance of increasing delegation exchanges to enhance mutual understanding and political trust and create momentum for economic ties. They agreed to maintain close coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums, especially the UN and NAM, as well as important organisations in the two regions such as the African Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Xuan called on Uganda to support ASEAN’s common stance on the peaceful settlement of disputes in the East Sea with respect for international law.

Regarding economic cooperation, the two sides agreed to actively implement the outcomes of President Museveni’s visit to Vietnam, increase the exchange of business delegations, work together to hold investment and trade promotion events, and improve agricultural cooperation effectiveness.

Museveni highly valued Vietnam’s information technology capacity, asking the Southeast Asian nation to assist his country in digital transformation and training of high-quality manpower in technology, automation, and artificial intelligence.

Meanwhile, Xuan asked Uganda to create conditions for major telecoms businesses of Vietnam like Viettel to seek investment opportunities.

The two leaders agreed to step up the negotiations on and signing of important bilateral cooperation documents, including an agreement on investment facilitation and protection and another on double-taxation avoidance, thereby completing the legal framework for fostering bilateral economic cooperation.

As part of the Vietnamese Vice President’s activities in Uganda, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation.

Talking to the UN Secretary-General, Xuan highly valued Guterres’s significant contributions to global peace, security, and development amid numerous challenges. She underlined Vietnam’s consistent and strong support for multilateralism and the global governance system with the UN at the centre, along with the country’s support for the Secretary-General’s efforts and initiatives for peace, reconciliation, and enhancement of strategic trust among countries.
         
She stated that Vietnam are determined to actively and responsibly contribute to the UN’s common works, including the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 and the target of net zero emissions by 2050.

During this process, Vietnam hopes to continue receiving the UN’s effective cooperation and assistance, particularly in terms of access to finance and technology and human resources training, the Vice President noted, calling on the Secretary-General to create favourable conditions for developing countries to bring into play their role and voice in the settlement of global issues.

For his part, Guterres considered Vietnam as a model of a war-torn country now emerging as a pillar in the promotion of global peace.

He stressed that the UN is ready to develop multifaceted cooperation with Vietnam, and hopes the country will continue making effective contributions to major processes of the UN in the coming time, including the Summit of the Future 2024, to work towards a world of peace, sustainable development, and better equality.

Both leaders also shared common opinions about the role of multilateralism, the demand for reforming international financial institutions, and the enhancement of the ASEAN - UN cooperation for peace and stability in Southeast Asia, including the East Sea.

At another meeting, Vice President Xuan and First Vice President of Iran Mokhber applauded the progress in their countries’ relations and agreed on the need to foster the coordination of stances at multilateral forums for the sake of peace, stability, and sustainable development in their respective regions and the world.

Xuan noted Vietnam always treasures the friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Iran, one of its important partners in the Middle East, and that the two sides should keep close coordination to implement the agreements reached during the official visit to Iran by National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue in August 2023.

She asked relevant ministries and sectors of the two countries to continue reviewing and updating cooperation mechanisms, and soon organise the 10th meeting of the Vietnam - Iran Inter-governmental Committee to remove bottlenecks and facilitate economic, investment, and trade links.

Mokhber said his country always views Vietnam as an important partner in Southeast Asia. He agreed with Xuan about the promotion of economic and trade ties on par with the countries’ potential, and the expansion of partnerships in other fields of common interest like science - technology, education - training, people-to-people exchanges, and locality-to-locality connections.

The First Vice President also voiced his hope for a visit to Vietnam in the near future to help intensify bilateral relations.

On this occasion, the two sides touched upon some international and regional issues of shared concern, including the Middle East situation and the East Sea issue.