President Luong Cuong: Vietnam always values friendly relations with Burundi

The leaders of Vietnam and Burundi agreed to increase the exchange of high-level delegations and effectively implement bilateral cooperation mechanisms, especially the Political Consultation mechanism between the two Foreign Ministries.

President Luong Cuong and Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye hold talks. (Photo: Lam Khanh/VNA)

At the invitation of President Luong Cuong and his wife, President of the Republic of Burundi Évariste Ndayishimiye and his wife paid an official visit to Vietnam from April 3-6, 2025.

On the morning of April 4, after the official welcoming ceremony solemnly held at the Presidential Palace, President Luong Cuong held talks with President Évariste Ndayishimiye.

At the talks, on behalf of the State and people of Vietnam, President Luong Cuong warmly welcomed President Évariste Ndayishimiye and the high-ranking delegation of Burundi on their first official visit to Vietnam; affirming that the President's visit is of special significance, taking place at a time when the two countries are preparing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-Burundi diplomatic relations (April 16, 1975 - April 16, 2025) and at a time when the Vietnamese people are happily celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South, National Reunification and the 80th anniversary of the founding of the country.

Believing that this visit will open a new phase in the friendship and cooperation between the two countries, President Luong Cuong affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to the friendship with African countries, including Burundi, friends who have always supported Vietnam in the past struggle for national independence as well as in the current national construction.

President Luong Cuong speaks at the talks. (Photo: Lam Khanh/VNA)

The President highly appreciated the achievements that the State and people of Burundi have made in maintaining political stability, national harmony, and socio-economic development; he believed that Burundi, under the leadership of President Évariste Ndayishimiye, would successfully achieve the set goals and contribute more to peace, stability, and development in the region.

The President of Burundi thanked the Party, State and people of Vietnam for the warm, sincere and thoughtful reception given to the high-ranking delegation of Burundi.

Expressing admiration for Vietnam's struggle for national independence and being impressed by the great and comprehensive achievements that Vietnam has made in socio-economic development as well as enhancing its prestige and position in the international arena, President Évariste Ndayishimiye was pleased that, despite the geographical distance, the people of the two countries are always united, have warm feelings, friendship and support for each other.

President Évariste Ndayishimiye informed the President about Burundi's socio-economic achievements, role and contributions in regional organizations; emphasized that this visit aims to affirm the determination of the State and Government of Burundi in consolidating and developing friendly relations and cooperation with Vietnam in the fields of investment, agriculture, mining, science and technology, digital transformation...; hoped that the two countries would consider opening permanent diplomatic representative agencies in each country.

Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye speaks at the talks. (Photo: Lam Khanh/VNA)

The two sides agreed to increase the exchange of high-level delegations through all channels to strengthen political trust and effectively implement bilateral cooperation mechanisms, especially the Political Consultation mechanism between the two Foreign Ministries.

The two sides highly appreciated the positive developments in economic cooperation, with the highlight being the success of the Lumitel telecommunications joint venture project with the participation of the Military Industry-Telecoms Group (Viettel) in Burundi, which is increasingly developing, contributing positively to economic development and bringing many benefits to the people of the two countries.

The two sides believed that there was still much potential to further increase bilateral trade turnover and agreed to promote information exchange on market demand, product lines, investment opportunities and facilitate businesses of the two countries to connect and cooperate; diversify trade items, identify categories and facilitate market access for some of each country's key import and export goods.

With a common understanding that there is still a lot of room for cooperation between the two countries, the two leaders agreed to continue to focus on promoting cooperation in areas of strength and mutual interest, especially agriculture, and sharing development experiences; actively negotiating and signing cooperation documents to perfect the legal framework, facilitating the implementation of cooperation activities.

On this occasion, President Luong Cuong thanked and expressed his hope that the President of Burundi would continue to pay attention and create favorable conditions for Viettel Group's telecommunications joint venture in Burundi and Vietnamese enterprises to operate and do business stably and long-term in Burundi.

During the talks, the two leaders also discussed international and regional issues of mutual concern. President Luong Cuong highly appreciated the contributions of Burundi and President Évariste Ndayishimiye personally in his capacity as First Vice Chair of the African Union (AU) in 2025 and Head of Coordination for the AU Agenda on Youth, Peace and Security.

The two leaders agreed to strengthen coordination, cooperation and mutual support at international organizations, multilateral and inter-regional forums, especially at the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement.

President Luong Cuong and Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye pose for a photo. (Photo: Lam Khanh/VNA)

The President of Burundi expressed his willingness to act as a bridge and support Vietnam in strengthening cooperation with the African Union and establishing relations with the East African Community.

Regarding the East Sea, the President asked Burundi to support ASEAN's stance on resolving maritime disputes by peaceful means, on the basis of respect for international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982) and ASEAN's efforts to build the East Sea into a sea of peace, stability, cooperation and sustainable development.

At the end of the talks, the President of Burundi once again expressed his gratitude to President Luong Cuong, the Party, State and People of Vietnam for their warm and cordial reception. With the desire to continue creating momentum for the effective and substantive development of bilateral relations, President Évariste Ndayishimiye respectfully invited President Luong Cuong to pay an official visit to Burundi in the near future. President Luong Cuong thanked and happily accepted the invitation.

Immediately after the talks, President Luong Cuong and President Évariste Ndayishimiye witnessed the signing ceremony of two cooperation documents, including a framework agreement on cooperation between the two governments and a Memorandum of Understanding on establishing a political and diplomatic consultation mechanism./.

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