Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue held talks with Nigerian Vice President Yeni Osinbajo as part of the Vietnamese official’s working visit to the African country from Oct. 29-31.

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue  (L)
and Nigerian Vice President Yeni Osinbajo (Source: VNA) 

During their talks on October 30, the two sides agreed to strengthen the exchange of delegations at all levels and through all channels, thus promoting mutual understanding.

They discussed measures to practically promote trade, agreeing that it is necessary to establish a legal framework favourable for cooperation activities, focusing on promoting the role of commercial committees as well as available mechanisms; enhancing the exchange of business delegations to share market information, trade policies and export-import related regulations of each country.

The Vietnamese side said the country wants to increase trade turnover with Nigeria through exporting cashew nuts, rice, aquatic products, footwear and textiles, and hopes to be supported by the Nigerian government.

Osinbajo said his country wants to enhance cooperation with Vietnam in agriculture as Nigeria is actively expanding agricultural production and promoting hi-tech application in the sector.

Nigeria is interested in the idea of opening a direct air route between the two countries, he said, suggesting the two sides foster people-to-people exchanges and cooperation in culture, sports and tourism.  

The official affirmed that Nigeria is willing to support Vietnam to expand relations with member nations of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union (AU), and proposed Vietnam serve as a bridge to help Nigeria connect with other ASEAN nations.

After their talks, the Vietnamese and Nigerian officials witnessed the signing of a visa exemption agreement for diplomatic passport holders, which aims to facilitate delegation exchanges between the two countries, contributing to fostering bilateral cooperation.

Deputy PM Hue took the occasion to convey the invitation of Vietnamese Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong to Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari to visit Vietnam.

On the same day, he also met with Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of Nigeria Idris Wase and President of the ECOWAS Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, during which they highlighted the increasing bilateral relations.

Hue said that relations with Nigeria in particular, and with other African countries in general, were an important part of Vietnam’s diplomatic policy.

Meanwhile, Wase spoke highly of the potential and cooperation achievements between the two countries, especially in economics and trade, affirming that the Nigerian parliament wants to promote cooperation with Vietnam and hopes the two sides will sign more agreements to create an impetus for their trade links.

For his part, Kassi Brou praised Vietnam’s socio-economic achievements and integration, while congratulating the country on winning a seat in the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member for 2020-2021, hoping that Vietnam will continue its active contributions to security issues in the region and the world.

Hue stressed that Vietnam always attaches importance to multi-faceted cooperation with traditional African friends, stressing the need for countries in West Africa and Vietnam to bolster cooperation and support each other to make their voice better heard and raise their role at multilateral cooperation mechanisms such as the UN, the Non-Aligned Movement and the South-South cooperation mechanism.