Official welcoming ceremony for the President of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau and his wife

The official visit to Vietnam by President of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau Umaro Sissoco Embaló and his wife is of great significance, being the first high-level visit between the two countries.

General Secretary andPresident To Lam and his wife, President of Guinea-Bissau Umaro Sissoco Embaló and his wife pose for a photo. (Photo: Lam Khanh/VNA)

At the invitation of General Secretary, President To Lam and his wife, President of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau Umaro Sissoco Embaló and his wife arrived in Hanoi , starting an official visit to Vietnam from September 5-8.

On the afternoon of September 6, at the Presidential Palace, General Secretary, President To Lam and his wife hosted the official welcoming ceremony for the President of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau Umaro Sissoco Embaló and his wife on an official visit to Vietnam.

Attending the welcoming ceremony were Head of the Central External Relations Commission Le Hoai Trung; Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son; Head of the Office of the President Le Khanh Hai; Vietnamese Ambassador to Morocco and Guinea-Bissau Le Kim Quy; Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong; Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Quoc Tri; Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hoang Long; Mr. To An Xo, Assistant to the General Secretary and President.

Many children in the capital waved flags of the two countries to welcome President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and his wife and the high-ranking delegation of Guinea-Bissau.

This is the first visit to Vietnam by a Guinea-Bissau President since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1973. The visit contributes to creating a foundation to promote the cooperative relationship between Vietnam and Guinea-Bissau to deepen in many fields.

General Secretary and President To Lam and President of Guinea-Bissau Umaro Sissoco Embaló with children in Hanoi. (Photo: Lam Khanh/VNA)

The motorcade carrying President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and his wife entered the Presidential Palace. General Secretary and President To Lam and his wife warmly welcomed President Umaro Sissoco Embaló leading the high-ranking delegation of Guinea-Bissau on an official visit to Vietnam.

Amidst the welcoming music, General Secretary and President To Lam invited the President of Guinea-Bissau to step up to the podium.

After listening to the national anthems of the two countries, General Secretary and President To Lam and President Umaro Sissoco Embaló left the podium, bowed to the military flag and inspected the Guard of Honor of the Vietnam People's Army. Next, the two leaders introduced the members of the high-ranking delegations of the two countries attending the welcoming ceremony.

Vietnam and Guinea-Bissau have a long-standing traditional friendship. The two countries established diplomatic relations on September 30, 1973, a few days after the country declared independence.

In its foreign policy, Vietnam always attaches importance to its traditional friendship and wishes to develop multifaceted cooperation with friendly countries in Africa, including Guinea-Bissau. This is an important foundation for the two countries to build political trust and cooperation for mutual development.

The Government of Guinea-Bissau considers Vietnam a priority cooperation partner in its foreign policy, and is ready to expand practical and effective cooperation in all fields in the coming time.

Currently, trade exchange is the main area of economic cooperation between the two countries. Vietnam is the third largest export market of Guinea-Bissau, while Guinea-Bissau is one of the five largest suppliers of raw cashew nuts to Vietnam in Africa for many years. The total trade turnover between the two countries in 2023 reached nearly 170 million USD, of which Vietnam mainly exports rice and textile products, and mainly imports raw cashews.

The two countries signed an Agreement on Cultural, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation and Trade (in 1994); a Memorandum of Understanding on Trade and Industrial Cooperation between the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Enhancing the Value of Local Products of Guinea-Bissau in 2014.

To create a breakthrough in economic and trade cooperation, the two sides agreed to promote information exchange, cooperation opportunities, and business connections between the two countries; continue to promote key trade items such as cashew nuts, expand to other potential items such as agricultural products, textiles, and sign bilateral cooperation documents on agriculture, seaports, and trade, etc.

The official visit to Vietnam by President of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau Umaro Sissoco Embaló and his wife is of great significance, being the first high-level visit between the two countries, contributing to creating a foundation to promote the cooperative relationship between Vietnam and Guinea-Bissau to deepen in many fields.

After the welcoming ceremony, the two leaders led the high-ranking delegations of the two countries to hold talks, assessing the results of cooperation between the two countries in the past time and proposing directions for cooperation in the future. The two leaders witnessed the signing ceremony of cooperation documents.

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