Representatives of two capital cities of Hanoi and Cairo on July 27 signed a friendship and cooperation agreement in the witness of Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang, on his official visit to Egypt.

The agreement, signed by Vice chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Manh Quyen and Cairo Governor Khaled Abdel A’al, aims to promote the relations and mutual understanding between the two cities in the areas of culture, sciences, education, health care, tourism, sports, environment, and trade.

The signing ceremony of the Friendship and Cooperation Agreement between Hanoi and Cairo, Egypt. Photo: VGP/Hai Minh

Speaking at the event, Quyen said the signing took place at a meaningful and important time as Vietnam and Egypt are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations.

Quyen said that in October 2022, Deputy Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Nguyen Van Phong and Governor of Cairo Khaled Abdel A'al signed a working Memorandum of Understanding to recognise the will and desire to develop a cooperative relationship. local cooperation between the capitals of the two countries.

He said the agreement not only marks the trust in bilateral political cooperation but also opens up many new cooperation opportunities for both sides, contribute to prosperity of the two capitals and strengthen the traditional friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Egypt.

On this occasion, Quyen delivered a letter from the Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Tran Sy Thanh invited Cairo Governor Khaled Abdel A'al to pay an official visit to Hanoi in 2023 for the two sides to exchange and discuss specific directions, programs and action plans to implementation of the Agreement of Friendship and Cooperation between the two sides.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang holds talks with Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly. Photo: VNA

The same day, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang and Prime Minister of Egypt Mostafa Madbouly have agreed to continue cultivating bilateral traditional friendship and fine cooperation via further increasing the exchange of delegations, especially those at high level.

Quang expressed his belief that the government and people of Egypt will successfully carry out the "Sustainable Development Strategy: Egypt Vision 2030" and continue reaping significant achievements in national construction and development.

He conveyed PM Pham Minh Chinh’s invitation to the Egyptian PM to visit Vietnam soon and suggested both sides actively offer mutual support at international organisations.

Hailing the positive developments in Vietnam – Egypt ties, they expressed determination to make breakthrough in bilateral coordination in various areas.

As there remains a huge room to boost ties across trade, investment and agriculture, they agreed to facilitate the exchange of business delegations and jointly hold trade and investment promotion events in each country, creating favourable conditions for strong export items, such as farm produce, rice, apparel and fertilisers, to enter each other’s market.

Host and guest pledged to encourage and make it easier for businesses from both sides to increase connectivity and engage in investment projects in each country.

To make breakthrough in future trade cooperation, the Vietnamese side proposed exploring the possibility of negotiating a Vietnam-Egypt Free Trade Agreement (FTA), working with Egypt to produce Halal food under bilateral or multilateral models, either in Vietnam or Egypt.

The host said Egyptian firms are increasingly interested in the Vietnamese market and highly value Vietnam’s political stability and pro-business environment. They wish to further nurture bilateral economic, trade, and investment ties and are willing to make it easier for Vietnamese enterprises to do business in Egypt.

To effectively adopt those measures, both sides consented to well prepare for and soon hold the sixth meeting of the Vietnam-Egypt Joint Committee, as well as hasten the fine-tuning of legal framework for all-around cooperation between the two countries.

On the occasion, Quang thanked and wished that Egypt would continue providing scholarships for Vietnamese students to study Arabic language and other fields in which it excels. He also noted the need to offer all possible support to the Vietnamese community in Egypt to settle down their lives, thus contributing to fostering mutual understanding and upholding their role as a bridge for bilateral exchanges and collaboration.

Following the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the State Bank of Vietnam and the Central Bank of Egypt.

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