(VNF) - General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong is set to pay official visits to Indonesia and Myanmar in the last week of August.

He will pay an official visit to Indonesia from August 22^nd-24^th at the invitation of Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo.

The visit aims to deepen the strategic partnership between the two countries. It also looks to reinforce political trust and friendship and speed up pragmatic cooperation, towards creating a new development in the two countries’ relations.

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. (Photo: VNA)

According to the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Asia-Pacific Department, Indonesia is the world’s 16^th largest economy and the largest market in Southeast Asia.

Despite global and regional economic uncertainties over the past time, trade between Vietnam and Indonesia has made significant strides, the department said.

Indonesia is Vietnam’s fourth largest trade partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with two-way trade expanding from USD 4.6 billion in 2012 to USD 5.6 billion in 2016, and an annual average growth rate of about 5 per cent.

In 2016, export and import revenues between the two countries reached USD 2.6 billion and USD 3 billion, respectively.

Bilateral collaboration in other fields like agriculture, investment, finance, banking and transport has also made new progresses.

After Indonesia, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong will make a State visit to the Republic of the Union of Myanmar from August 24^th-26^th as guest of Myanmar’s President Htin Kyaw.

The visit looks to define a framework for the two countries’ relations that will have a new milestone, heights, and a new impulse across sectors.

Vietnam and Myanmar have shared a sound traditional friendship. Myanmar was one of the first Southeast Asian countries to set up diplomatic relations with Vietnam.

Trade between the two countries soared 26 per cent yearly to USD 548.3 million last year, USD 461.9 million of which was Vietnam’s exports, up 22 per cent annually.

Vietnam leapt from the 10^th last year to seventh place in February 2017 among 49 countries and territories investing in Myanmar with 14 projects with total registered capital of more than USD 2 billion, according to the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration of Myanmar./.

VNF