Newly-elected President of Panama Laurentino Cortizo Cohen recently voiced his hope to learn Vietnam’s experience in development.

Newly-elected President of Panama Laurentino Cortizo Cohen (Photo: AFP/VNA)

He made the remark when receiving Vietnamese Ambassador to Mexico and Panama Nguyen Hoai Duong, who was also the special envoy of the Vietnamese President to attend the Panamanian President’s inauguration ceremony.

 The politician sworn in as President for the 2019-2024 term on July 1. 

At the event, the Vietnamese diplomat conveyed wishes of Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong to the Panamanian President which express the hope that under his leadership, the government and people of Panama will prosper and the Vietnam-Panama cooperation and friendship be strengthened in all fields.

In reply, Cortizo spoke highly of Vietnam’s remarkable and comprehensive development, adding that his country wants to learn many things from Vietnam, especially in agricultural development, hunger eradication and poverty reduction.

Vietnam and Panama set up diplomatic ties on August 28, 1975. After more than four decades, the bilateral friendship has been thriving, although economic cooperation, trade and investment have yet to tap the countries’ potential.

Statistics show that two-way trade hits 300 million USD per year, with Vietnam shipping mostly garment-textile, footwear, electronic parts and fishery products to the Latin American nation.