Vietnam - Ethiopia discuss and introduce potential investment projects

After the official welcoming ceremony was solemnly held, on the afternoon of April 15 at the Government Headquarters, Politburo member and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held talks with Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the meeting, the two leaders reviewed bilateral relations and discussed and agreed on specific directions and measures to continue to strengthen and deepen cooperation in various fields between the two countries in the coming time.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that in its overall foreign policy, Vietnam always attaches importance to the friendly relations with friendly countries in Africa, including Ethiopia.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali affirmed that Ethiopia considers Vietnam its foreign priority in the Asian region and wishes to work with Vietnam to develop bilateral cooperation in areas where both sides have strengths and potential.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali affirmed the importance of maintaining contacts at all levels, especially at high levels through all channels of the Party, State, National Assembly as well as between ministries, departments, branches, localities and enterprises of the two countries to strengthen political trust; agreed to soon study and open diplomatic representative agencies in each country.

Recognizing the positive progress in economic cooperation with Vietnamese enterprises initially interested in investing in Ethiopia, the two Prime Ministers said that the existing cooperation is not commensurate with the scale and potential of the two economies with a total market size of over 230 million people and the top high growth rate of the two regions.

The two sides agreed to discuss and negotiate basic agreements and arrangements to create a favorable legal corridor for economic cooperation, especially the Free Trade Agreement, the Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement, the double tax avoidance Agreement, the Cooperation Agreement on cyber security and the prevention of high-tech crimes, etc.

The two Prime Ministers also agreed to discuss and introduce investment projects in potential areas such as telecommunications, digital transformation, cybersecurity, mining, industrial and consumer goods production, processing and exporting processing industries, agricultural products, civil construction, infrastructure development, education and training, healthcare, tourism, etc.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali welcomed and wished Vietnam a successful organization of the P4G Summit, contributing to global efforts on green and sustainable development. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that Vietnam is ready to act as a bridge to promote cooperation between ASEAN and Ethiopia, hoping that Ethiopia will support Vietnam in promoting relations with the African Union (AU) and Eastern African countries; and is ready to support Ethiopia in organizing the P4G Summit in 2027.

After the talks, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali witnessed the signing of cooperation documents including: Memorandum of Understanding on trade cooperation between the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam and the Ministry of Commerce and Investment of Ethiopia, Memorandum of Understanding on educational cooperation between the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam and the Ministry of Education of Ethiopia. Previously, the two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the Vietnam Federation of Commerce and Industry and the Department of Commerce and the Ethiopia Industry Association.

During the visit, the Vietnamese side handed over a letter of approval allowing ethiopian Airlines to open a direct flight connecting the two countries' capitals, the only direct flight route to date will be implemented to facilitate trade connections between the two countries in particular and between Vietnam and Africa in general.

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