President Nguyen Minh Triet and his entourage left Hanoi Tuesday on a two-day visit to Venezuela, the first time a Vietnamese head of state is paying an official visit to the South American country.

Vietnam and Venezuela established diplomatic ties in December 1989. Since then, the level of friendship and cooperation between the two countries has developed strongly.

This August, the two countries conducted the first session of their Joint Governmental Commission to implement agreements between them; define areas of cooperation and discuss practical projects; particularly in the fields of energy, oil and gas, industry, agriculture; and creating a legal framework for bilateral cooperation.

The two sides signed several documents including a framework agreement on cooperation matters relating to energy and culture; establishment of joint governmental commissions on ideology, national defense and the economy; visa exemptions for diplomatic and official passport holders; and the adoption of a mechanism for political reference between the two foreign ministries.

Bilateral trade between the two countries has been fairly modest, given the potential. Two-way trade reached US$11.7 million in 2007 and $10.1 million during the first six months of 2008, with Vietnam gaining a trade surplus.

Source: VNA