Vietnamese Ambassador to Mexico Nguyen Hoai Duong has highlighted the two countries’ relations over the past four decades, saying that bilateral friendship and cooperation are flourishing in all spheres.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Mexico Nguyen Hoai Duong (R)
gives an interview to the Excelsior newspaper

In an interview with Mexican media, the ambassador said over 44 years since the establishment of the diplomatic relationship on May 19, 1975, the countries have been enjoying a sound friendship and cooperation. They have shared similarities in their internal and external policies as both have similar development targets and geo-strategic positions.

The two sides have also often supported each other at important multilateral and international forums such as the United Nations and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

The Vietnamese and Mexican foreign ministries are going to hold the fifth political consultation between their deputy ministers in the time ahead so as to seek measures to bolster political and diplomatic cooperation, Duong said.

He noted over the last decade, bilateral trade has grown by 10-15 percent annually, reaching about 5 billion USD at present. However, direct investment and partnership between the countries’ businesses remain modest.

As both nations have signed and ratified the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and are working to implement it, bilateral trade and investment will achieve considerable progress in the near future to match the potential of the two markets, which boasts more than 220 million consumers representing 45 percent of the total population and 15 percent of the combined GDP of all CPTPP members, the diplomat added.

Vietnam and Mexico will also soon organise the second meeting of the joint committee for economic, trade and investment cooperation so as to remove obstacles in economic ties, thus creating more favourable conditions for businesses to boost bilateral trade and investment.

In his interview, Duong also admitted the limited collaboration in science-technology, education-training, and culture-arts, citing geographical distance and language difference as the reasons.

He noted activities held by the Vietnamese Embassy in Mexico City as well as by the Mexican Embassy in Hanoi to promote connections in these fields, including cultural exchanges, photo exhibitions, and talks at universities and cultural centres, to popularise the countries’ images to each other’s people. 

Additionally, the acupuncture project that Vietnam’s National Hospital of Acupuncture has carried out in Mexico for almost 20 years, and the presence of Vietnamese students at several Mexican universities are also highlights in cultural and social relations.

The Vietnam News Agency (VNA) is planning to publish the Vietnam Pictorial in Spanish in Mexico. That will give a boost to the introduction of Vietnam to the country and Latin American nations, as well as cultural exchanges, Ambassador Duong said.