Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh arrives in Abu Dhabi, starting official visit to UAE

For the first time in 15 years, a Vietnamese Prime Minister has officially visited the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Therefore, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh 's visit is of great significance.

At noon on October 27 (local time), the plane carrying Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife along with the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation landed at Zayed International Airport, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). UAE is the first stop of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in his visit to three Middle Eastern countries. The head of the Vietnamese Government is paying an official visit to the UAE from October 27 to 29, at the invitation of President of the United Arab Emirates Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife arrive at Zayed International Airport, Abu Dhabi, UAE (Photo: Hong Nguyen).

This is the first visit of a Vietnamese Prime Minister to the UAE in 15 years, so it is of great significance in strengthening political trust and enhancing Vietnam's relations in both breadth and depth with other countries. During this official visit, the head of the Vietnamese Government will hold talks with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, meet with senior UAE leaders and representatives of major corporations of this country. The UAE is the second largest economy in the Gulf region. It is the leading financial and commercial center in the Middle East, and is also the fourth largest oil producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The UAE plays an important role in the Middle East - North Africa region. In recent years, the UAE has proactively promoted the trend of détente in the region and actively implemented the "Look East" policy, attaching importance to relations with Asian countries, including Vietnam.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife take a photo with UAE children (Photo: Hong Nguyen).

Vietnam and the UAE established diplomatic relations on August 1, 1993. Over the past 30 years, the friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and the UAE have developed positively in many fields such as politics, diplomacy, trade, investment, labor and tourism. Political trust and mutual understanding between the two countries have been constantly strengthened. Recently, during a meeting with UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi and leaders of 19 major UAE corporations at the end of August, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that Vietnam attaches importance to the friendship and multifaceted cooperation with the UAE - one of Vietnam's leading economic partners in the Middle East. According to the Prime Minister, Vietnam considers the UAE a gateway to strengthen cooperation with the Middle East and is ready to act as a bridge for the UAE to promote cooperation with ASEAN. Economic cooperation has always been an important pillar and a bright spot in the overall picture of Vietnam - UAE cooperation.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh paid an official visit to the UAE from October 27 to 29 (Photo: Hong Nguyen).

The UAE is currently Vietnam's largest export market in the Middle East - Africa region with bilateral trade turnover reaching 4.7 billion USD in 2023, up 6.8% compared to 2022. The two countries strive to soon achieve the target of 10 billion USD in trade turnover in the near future and even higher in the following years. Vietnam mainly exports to the UAE items such as phones of all kinds and components, textiles, computers, electronic products and components, footwear, etc. and imports from the UAE items such as raw plastics, animal feed, machinery, equipment and spare parts, base metals, chemicals. In terms of investment, the UAE is one of the major investors in Vietnam with a total of 42 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects, with a total capital of 74.09 million USD, ranking 52nd out of 148 countries and territories investing in Vietnam (accumulated to September 2024). The potential for economic and trade cooperation between Vietnam and the UAE is assessed to be very large, as the two economies have complementary strengths. The two countries have been negotiating the Vietnam - UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) since June 2023 and agreed to soon complete negotiations to sign the CEPA agreement. At the end of his official visit to the UAE, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will pay an official visit to Qatar; visit and attend the 8th Future Investment Initiative Conference in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from October 29 to November 1.

Hoai Thu (From Abu Dhabi, UAE)

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/xa-hoi/thu-tuong-pham-minh-chinh-toi-abu-dhabi-bat-dau-chuyen-tham-chinh-thuc-uae-20241027061159361.htm