Vietnam - Egypt ties upgraded to Comprehensive Partnership

According to a joint statement between Vietnam and Egypt, issued on August 5,  following the official talks between Vietnamese President Luong Cuong and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El‑Sisi in Cairo, the bilateral ties between the two countries have been upgraded to Comprehensive Partnership, according to the Government News.

At the two Presidents’ summit meeting, which was held on the same day as part of President Luong Cuong's State visit to Egypt from August 3-6,  President El-Sisi affirmed that this visit marks an important milestone, opening up a new phase of cooperation between the two countries after more than 60 years since they established diplomatic relations.

The Egyptian President expressed his profound admiration for President Ho Chi Minh and praised Vietnam's heroic history and remarkable development achievements under the wise leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, emphasizing that Egypt always values and wishes to further strengthen the traditional, close-knit friendship with Vietnam.

President Luong Cuong, for his part,  affirmed the importance Vietnam has attached to the bilateral relationship, which has been nurtured by Vietnam’s late President Ho Chi Minh, Egypt’s late President Gamal Abdel Nasser, and generations of leaders and people of both nations.

The two Presidents briefed each other about each country's socio-economic development situation and welcomed the positive progress in the Vietnam – Egypt relations, affirming their determination to create breakthroughs in bilateral cooperation across all fields.

On that basis, and in line with the level of the bilateral ties, meeting the aspirations of the two nations' peoples, and with the shared desire to contribute to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in each region and globally, both sides agreed to elevate the bilateral relationship to a Comprehensive Partnership.

The two leaders agreed that Vietnam and Egypt will continue to support each other and maintain close collaboration. They also consented to deepen political trust and implement breakthrough measures to strengthen trade and investment cooperation.

Both sides also discussed opportunities to expand cooperation into new areas such as innovation, science and technology, green transition, and digital transformation. At the same time, they agreed to continue improving the bilateral legal frameworks to serve as a solid foundation for comprehensive collaboration between the two countries.

To promote balanced and mutually beneficial trade, State President Luong stated that Vietnam agreed to open its market to certain products of Egyptian interest and proposed the African country facilitate access for Vietnamese goods to its market. Relevant agencies of both countries will soon carry out procedures in accordance with international practices to implement this policy. President El-Sisi said Egypt, with its strategic position at the intersection of three continents and its extensive network of free trade agreements, stands ready to serve as a gateway for Vietnamese businesses and goods to access the Middle Eastern and African markets.

He also agreed to discuss the potential establishment of new bilateral trade cooperation frameworks to help boost future trade turnover.

The two sides consented to establish a working group to explore the feasibility of negotiating a Viet Nam – Egypt free trade agreement. They also pledged to strengthen cooperation in education and people-to-people exchanges, and boost tourism promotion.