In an interview with VOV.VN reporters on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Egypt (September 1, 1963 - September 1, 2023), Ambassador Amal Salama said that since Vietnam and Egypt established diplomatic relations, the cooperative relationship between the two countries has developed strongly in many fields, from politics and diplomacy to economics, trade, culture, tourism...
The two countries regularly exchange high-level visits to shape bilateral cooperation, including an official visit to Vietnam in 2017 by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and a state visit to Egypt a year later by President Tran Dai Quang.
Trade target of 1 billion USD within reach
According to Ambassador Amal Salama, the good political relationship is the premise for the two countries to promote and expand bilateral cooperation, through the signing of cooperation documents in areas such as economics, trade, investment, culture, maritime, etc.
The two countries are currently expanding cooperation in new areas such as climate change adaptation, digital transformation and renewable energy development. The two countries are also negotiating to sign a Memorandum of Understanding in the fields of environment, education and transport, local cooperation, radio and television (with the Voice of Vietnam) and a number of other areas.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh receives Egyptian Ambassador Amal Salama
However, Ambassador Amal Salama also said that the two countries have not yet fully exploited each other's potential strengths to enhance bilateral cooperation, as two-way trade remains quite modest, reaching only 600 million USD in 2022.
Ambassador Amal Salama said: “I have faith that the two countries can increase trade to 1 billion USD or even higher in the near future if we fully exploit each other's economic and tourism potential and strengths, as well as promote business connections through organizing business forums in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam or in Cairo and Alexandria of Egypt. I have met many Egyptian businesses and they are very interested in the Vietnamese market."
To achieve the above goal, the Ambassador suggested that the two countries create conditions for their strong products to access each other's markets. In addition, Egypt called on Vietnamese enterprises to invest in special economic zones in Egypt, while encouraging its enterprises to come to Vietnam to learn about the investment environment and establish long-term cooperative partnerships.
In the coming time, Vietnam and Egypt will continue to promote activities to expand bilateral cooperation in the economic field.
Ambassador Amal Salama also revealed that during Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang's visit to Egypt at the end of July, the two sides mentioned the possibility of negotiating a bilateral trade agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and Egypt. Ambassador Amal Salama said that such an FTA, if signed, would certainly open up many opportunities to promote economic, trade and investment cooperation, helping to increase two-way trade turnover.
Exploiting the strengths of the Halal market
One of the potential areas of cooperation between the two countries is the Halal food industry, which is one of Egypt's strengths, while this is an industry that Vietnam is starting to approach and wants to develop to penetrate deeper into the large Halal market of Muslim countries.
Egyptian Ambassador Amal Salama shared with VOV.VN reporter
To help Vietnam develop the Halal industry, Ambassador Amal Salama said Egypt has sent experts to guide Vietnam in strictly following the production processes of Halal products according to Islamic Shariah law so that Vietnamese products can be granted Halal certification and allowed to be exported to the Muslim market.
“Egypt is ready to cooperate with Vietnam and is looking for the best approach to help Vietnam develop this field,” Ambassador Amal Salama emphasized.
Exploiting tourism strengths
Also in an interview with VOV.VN, Ambassador Amal Salama mentioned the possibility of enhancing tourism cooperation between the two countries, due to the similarities in culture, history, as well as the strengths of the two countries.
According to the ambassador, Egypt has many strengths to develop tourism thanks to its favorable geographical location, ancient civilization, interesting system of tombs, pyramids and museums, along with unique ancient architecture, attracting tourists. Meanwhile, Vietnam is a country with a long history, colorful culture, and many beautiful places recognized by international organizations.
Egyptian girl posing with Vietnamese conical hat
“There was a time when the COVID-19 pandemic severely affected global tourism, including Egypt and Vietnam. But now is the time for the two countries to join hands to cooperate in developing tourism. Egyptian people respect Vietnamese culture and they want to visit your beautiful country. The Egyptian Embassy is also ready to create the best conditions for Vietnamese citizens who want to visit and experience Egypt, ” Ambassador Amal Salama shared.
Promote people-to-people and cultural diplomacy
In addition, local cooperation and cultural cooperation are also a pillar in the relationship between the two countries. Ambassador Amal Salama said that Luxor province of Egypt and Ninh Binh province of Vietnam have signed a twinning agreement, and the two localities have planned to promote multifaceted cooperation, including cultural exchanges. Most recently, during Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang's visit to Egypt, the Cairo and Hanoi city governments signed cooperation documents in areas such as culture, economy, sports, and education. …
According to Ambassador Amal Salama, Egypt is very interested in participating in cultural events in Vietnam, and vice versa, Vietnam also wants to participate in cultural events taking place in Egypt. The Egyptian Embassy plans to organize an exhibition and a concert with the combination of artists from both countries in December to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Egypt.
On the occasion of the 78th anniversary of Vietnam's National Day (September 2, 1945 - September 2, 2023), on behalf of the Egyptian government, Ambassador Amal Salama wished the Vietnamese people to continue to reap even greater achievements in the cause of national construction and development as well as international integration.
Huu Binh (Source: VOV Online Newspaper)
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