Viet Nam, Egypt upgrade ties to Comprehensive Partnership

The Joint Statement was released following the two leaders' summit meeting in Cairo as part of Vietnamese State President Luong Cuong's ongoing State visit to Egypt.

At their summit meeting, President El-Sisi affirmed that this visit marks an important milestone, opening up a new phase of cooperation between the two countries after more than 60 years since Egypt and Viet Nam established diplomatic relations.

He expressed his profound admiration for President Ho Chi Minh and praised Viet Nam's heroic history and remarkable development achievements under the wise leadership of the Communist Party of Viet Nam,emphasizing that Egypt always values and wishes to further strengthen the traditional, close-knit friendship with Viet Nam.

State President Luong affirmed the importance Viet Nam has attached to the bilateral relationship, which has been nurtured by President Ho Chi Minh, late President Gamal Abdel Nasser, and generations of leaders and people of both nations.

The two leaders briefed each other about each country's socio-economic development situation and welcomed the positive progress in the Viet Nam – Egypt relations, affirming their determination to create breakthroughs in bilateral cooperation across all fields.

On that basis, and in line with the level of the bilateral ties, meeting the aspirations of the two nations' peoples, and with the shared desire to contribute to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in each region and globally, both sides agreed to elevate the bilateral relationship to a Comprehensive Partnership.

The two leaders agreed that Viet Nam and Egypt will continue to support each other and maintain close collaboration. They also consented to deepen political trust and implement breakthrough measures to strengthen trade and investment cooperation.

Both sides also discussed opportunities to expand cooperation into new areas such as innovation, science and technology, green transition, and digital transformation. At the same time, they agreed to continue improving the bilateral legal frameworks to serve as a solid foundation for comprehensive collaboration between the two countries.

To promote balanced and mutually beneficial trade, State President Luong stated that Viet Nam agreed to open its market to certain products of Egyptian interest and proposed the African country facilitate access for Vietnamese goods to its market. Relevant agencies of both countries will soon carry out procedures in accordance with international practices to implement this policy. President El-Sisi said Egypt, with its strategic position at the intersection of three continents and its extensive network of free trade agreements, stands ready to serve as a gateway for Vietnamese businesses and goods to access the Middle Eastern and African markets.

He also agreed to discuss the potential establishment of new bilateral trade cooperation frameworks to help boost future trade turnover.

The two sides consented to establish a working group to explore the feasibility of negotiating a Viet Nam – Egypt free trade agreement. They also pledged to strengthen cooperation in education and people-to-people exchanges, and boost tourism promotion.

Luong expressed his appreciation for Egypt's Arabic language scholarships for Vietnamese students and suggested expanding collaboration and student exchanges in emerging fields such as halal, agriculture, and international relations.

He also called for experience-sharing and support in preserving and promoting Viet Nam's cultural heritage, museum management, and sustainable tourism development.

On this occasion, Luong called on Egypt to support the Vietnamese community there, enabling them to contribute to Egypt's development and the bilateral ties.

Regarding regional and international issues of shared concern, President Luong commended Egypt's role as a mediator in seeking solutions to regional conflicts.

President El-Sisi also welcomed Viet Nam's stance on the just cause of the Palestinian people and agreed that promoting a two-state solution is vital for achieving lasting peace in the Middle East.

For the East Sea issue, the two leaders affirmed support for resolving disputes through peaceful means, based on the respect for international law, the UN Charter, and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to ensure peace, security, and freedom of navigation and overflight.

They underscored the importance of upholding international law and the UN Charter, and agreed to enhance coordination, consultation, and mutual support at multilateral forums, for the interests of the two countries' people, as well as for peace, stability, and development in the region and the world at large.

Following their talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of several key cooperation documents, covering economy and local development.

As part of President Luong's ongoing state visit, the two defence ministries also signed a Letter of Intent on defence cooperation, along with a memorandum of understanding between the Viet Nam Department of Peacekeeping Operations and Egypt's Liaison Agency with International Organisations.

Senior officials and business leaders from both sides also held working sessions, reaching a range of agreements in the fields of finance, agricultural trade, and oil and gas./.