Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung (L) and Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev (Photo: VNA)

(VOVworld) - Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s visits to Kazakhstan, Algeria, Portugal and Bulgaria have contributed to enhancing multilateral economic links and bilateral collaborations, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bui Thanh Son, has told the press. While the PM’s visit to Kazakhstan was meant to forge multi-lateral economic links, the next tours to Algeria, Portugal and Bulgaria constituted a new milestone altogether in their relationship with Vietnam. He said that the free trade agreement (FTA) struck between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in Kazakhstan, the first of its kind signed between the union and an outside partner, will offer enormous opportunities for Vietnam to increase trade and investment ties with an over 170-million-strong market that records total gross domestic product of over 4 trillion USD and trade value of nearly 1 trillion USD.

This is the second visit of a Vietnamese leader to Algeria over the past five years, the first ever high-level visit to Portugal, and the first visit of a Vietnamese Prime Minister to Bulgaria since 2000, Deputy Minister Son said. Foreign leaders said the visit comes at a time when bilateral cooperation needs pushing and a strong political foundation to elevate the benefits of the stakeholders. During separate talks and meetings, the Vietnamese and foreign leaders agreed to double efforts to make economic cooperation a key pillar in bilateral cooperation, while actively seeking new coordination to fully tap the potential and the strengths of each countries. Specifically, Vietnam and Algeria aim to increase two-way trade from the current level of 250 million USD to 1 billion USD in the coming years, and committed to support each other in oil and gas and agriculture. The two nations inked agreements on culture, health and tourism. Portugal and Vietnam look to raise bilateral trade from 360 million USD to 1 billion USD, and defined marine economy and tourism as potential fields for stronger cooperation. The two countries signed agreements to avoid double taxation and increase tourism cooperation. Meanwhile, Vietnam and Bulgaria have put in place a number of measures to implement the new economic cooperation model. The countries hope to continue coordination with Vietnam at multilateral forums and international organizations, particularly the United Nations.