Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio agreed on guidelines to foster cooperative relations between the two countries in the coming times.

During their talks in Hanoi on March 15 after a welcoming ceremony for the Sierra Leonean leader, the two presidents welcomed the fruitful development of bilateral relations in all fields.

President Phuc welcomed the visit of the Sierra Leonean leader and commended the African country for its achievements in socio-economic development and prevention and control of the COVID-19 pandemic. He believed that the country will reap more success and achieve all the goals of the medium-term national development plan for the period 2019-2023.

The Sierra Leonean president expressed his impression of Vietnam’s socio-economic achievements in the recent past as well as its successes in controlling the pandemic and economic recovery at present.

Despite modest value, bilateral trade increased from $17 million in 2018 to $51.5 million in 2021, they noted, adding that the two sides have worked together in agriculture and investment. .

An overview of the talks. (Photo: VNA)

Going forward, the two leaders agreed to continue to maintain high-level and all-level visits and meetings, while strengthening collaboration and mutual support in multilateral forums, particularly at the UN, the Non-Aligned Movement, and helping each other to expand partnerships at the regional level in Africa through the African Union.

They agreed to consider the economy as the priority area of ​​cooperation. Vietnam and Sierra Leone will optimize the strengths and potential of the two economies, while drastically implementing their signed agreements to strengthen trade ties, including rice trade.

Both parties will encourage and create favorable conditions for companies of both parties to seek business and investment opportunities in the country of the other.

At the same time, the two countries will make agriculture a key pillar of the bilateral partnership and share their experiences to promote cooperation on the ground in bilateral and tripartite frameworks with the commitment of international organizations and industrial countries. developed as well as the private sector. sector.

The two leaders also focused their discussions on finding measures to expand collaboration in other areas such as high technology, telecommunications, digital transformation, innovation, education and training.

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc (right) and Sierra LeonePresident Julius Maada Bio attends the signing of a cooperation agreement between the two countries in the agricultural field. (Photo: VNA)

At the end of the talks, the two presidents witnessed the signing of three cooperation agreements between ministries and sectors of Vietnam and Sierra Leone in the fields of diplomacy, agriculture and fisheries, which should lay the foundations for strengthening the ties of cooperation between the two countries.

Earlier the same day, Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio and his wife paid their respects to President Ho Chi Minh at the late leader’s mausoleum and fallen fighters at the Monument to Heroic Martyrs on Bac Son Street in Hanoi./.