President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi arrived in Hanoi on Wednesday for an official visit to Vietnam, where he was received by senior Vietnamese officials and Arab and African ambassadors to Vietnam.
The president then went to the presidential palace, where he was received by the President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Tran Dai Quang. The two presidents held rounds of talks with delegations from the two countries.
Official presidency spokesperson Alaa Youssef said that the Vietnamese president welcomed Sisi, noting that his visit was particularly important as it was the first visit by an Egyptian president to Vietnam since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1963.
Quang said that the Sisi’s visit will provide great momentum to bilateral cooperation in all fields between the two countries.
Sisi expressed his appreciation to the Vietnamese President for the warm welcome, stressing Egypt’s keenness to develop cooperation with Vietnam in various fields.
The Egyptian president also praised the developmental achievements of the Vietnamese people, stressing Egypt’s aspiration to intensify cooperation with Vietnam and to benefit from its experiences and successes achieved in the fields of industry and trade.
Youssef added that Sisi reviewed Egypt’s program for sustainable economic development implemented by the government, including the major national projects and legislative and administrative measures aimed at creating a climate conducive to investment, especially in view of the availability of many promising opportunities for investors.
The Vietnamese president stressed his country’s keenness to develop and increase cooperation with Egypt in economic fields.
Youssef pointed out that the talks dealt with ways of developing cooperation in maritime transport, shipbuilding, agriculture, fish farming and information technology, as well as means of enhancing popular and cultural communication between the two countries.
The two sides agreed on the importance of concerted efforts by the international community to tackle terrorism and extremism that are threatening the world. Sisi stressed his condemnation of the violence in Myanmar, noting that the continuation of these events helps to fuel terrorism and extremist thought.
Sisi extended an invitation to the President of Vietnam to visit Egypt, which was welcomed by the Vietnamese President and confirmed his aspiration to meet the invitation soon. After the talks, Sisi and the President of Vietnam witnessed the signing ceremony of:
1) Record of the fifth meeting of the joint committee between Egypt and Vietnam.
2) Memorandum of understanding on the establishment of a sub-committee for bilateral cooperation in the fields of trade and industry.
3) Memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the two broadcasting organizations in the two countries.
4) Memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the Field of commercial navigation.
5) Executive Program for cooperation in tourism for the period 2017-2019.
6) Executive Program for cooperation in the field of culture for the period 2017-2021.
7) Memorandum of understanding on investment promotion.
8) Memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the field of fish farming.
9) Memorandum of understanding in the fields of establishing and managing ports and economic zones.
