Vietnam and Qatar on Friday issued a joint communiqué to lift their relationship to a more advanced level in various areas, with a focus put on economic, trade, and investment cooperation, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The document was publicized following Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s three-day official visit to the Middle East country, starting on October 30, at the invitation of Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.

This visit marked the first by a Vietnamese chief of government to Qatar in 15 years.

During his visit, PM Chinh met with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, held discussions with Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, and met Shura Council Speaker Hassan bin Abdulla Al-Ghanim.

He also engaged in talks with other Qatari ministers and officials.

Both sides expressed satisfaction with their 30-year bilateral relationship's achievements, pledging to enhance cooperation, promote delegation exchanges at all levels, and strengthen people-to-people ties, according to the joint communiqué.

With a shared vision to elevate the Vietnam-Qatar relationship, both sides agreed to work toward a more involved, concrete, and effective partnership.

They underlined economic, trade, and investment cooperation in strengthening their ties, while also recognizing the great potential for collaboration in other sectors such as energy, oil and gas (especially liquefied natural gas), agriculture, the Halal industry, and banking.

The communiqué stated that bilateral trade and investment activities need to be solidified to attract more investment from Qatari funds into strategic projects in Vietnam, enhance business connections, and facilitate mutual investment opportunities.

To improve market access, both countries agreed to negotiate agreements covering economics, trade, labor, and visa exemptions, among other areas. They expressed interest in exploring cooperation opportunities in emerging sectors such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, clean energy, solar energy, digital transformation, innovative governance, and the green and circular economy.

The joint communiqué outlines a commitment from Vietnam and Qatar to strengthen defense and security cooperation, fostering a peaceful and collaborative environment in both regions and globally. The two nations agreed to enhance collaboration in education and training, tourism, and cultural and sports exchanges to deepen people-to-people connections and mutual understanding.

They also pledged to increase scholarships for each other’s students.

During their talks, the leaders of both nations discussed international and regional issues of common interest and underlined the importance of upholding international law and the United Nations Charter, while advocating the settlement of disputes by diplomatic means for the sake of peace, stability, security, and development at regional and global levels.

During PM Chinh’s visit, the two governments entered into a protocol amending their 2009 bilateral agreement on air services, while the two sides’ ministries and agencies signed four memoranda of understanding on their cooperation.

The Vietnamese premier extended an invitation to PM and Foreign Minister Al Thani to visit Vietnam, an invitation that the Qatari official enthusiastically accepted.

PM Chinh also requested Al Thani to relay similar invitations from Vietnamese Party General Secretary To Lam and State President Luong Cuong to Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, as well as from National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man to Speaker of the Shura Council Hassan bin Abdulla Al-Ghanim.

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