Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh holds talks with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali

After the solemn official welcoming ceremony, on the afternoon of April 15 at the Government Headquarters, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held talks with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali take a photo together.

On behalf of the Government and people of Vietnam, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh warmly welcomed Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali and the high-ranking delegation of the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia on their official visit to Vietnam. This is the first official visit by a high-ranking Ethiopian leader to Vietnam since the two countries established relations nearly 50 years ago (1976 - 2026).

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh believes that the visit will contribute to strengthening friendship, bringing Vietnam-Ethiopia cooperation into a new stage of development, becoming increasingly practical and effective, for the benefit of the people of the two countries.

Briefing the Ethiopian Prime Minister on the main features of Vietnam's socio-economic development, the Prime Minister emphasized that Vietnam is persistently implementing "three strategic breakthroughs" in institutions, human resources and infrastructure.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that in the face of fluctuations in the global economic situation and trade tensions, Vietnam and Ethiopia need to promote dialogue and mutual understanding to continue diversifying markets and facilitating economic, trade and investment cooperation between the two countries.

In an atmosphere of sincerity, friendship and trust, the two leaders reviewed bilateral relations and discussed and agreed on specific directions and measures to continue strengthening and deepening cooperation in various fields between the two countries in the coming time.

View of the meeting.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that in its overall foreign policy, Vietnam always attaches importance to friendly relations with friendly countries in Africa, including Ethiopia, and highly appreciates the important achievements that the Government and people of Ethiopia have made in socio-economic development. He expressed his belief that Ethiopia will continue to successfully implement the "Self-reliant Economic Reform" Program, making Ethiopia a bright spot in economic growth in Africa, with an increasingly important position and role in the region and the world.

The Ethiopian Prime Minister was delighted to visit Vietnam for the first time as Vietnam prepares to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification; he expressed his impression of the resilience and bravery of the Vietnamese people as well as the socio-economic development achievements and the increasing role of Vietnam in the region and the world.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali affirmed that Ethiopia considers Vietnam a foreign policy priority in the Asian region and wishes to develop bilateral cooperation with Vietnam in areas where both sides have strengths and potential.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed affirmed the importance of maintaining contacts at all levels, especially high-level ones, through all channels of the Party, State, and National Assembly, as well as between ministries, sectors, localities, and businesses of the two countries, in order to strengthen political trust; and agreed to consider the early opening of diplomatic representative agencies in each country.

Acknowledging the positive developments in economic cooperation with Vietnamese enterprises showing initial interest in investing in Ethiopia, the two Prime Ministers said that current cooperation is not commensurate with the scale and potential of the two economies with a total market size of over 230 million people and the highest growth rate in the two regions.

The two sides agreed to discuss and negotiate basic agreements to create a favorable legal corridor for economic cooperation, especially the Free Trade Agreement, the Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement, the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement, the Cooperation Agreement on Cyber Security and Prevention and Combat of High-Tech Crimes, etc.

The two Prime Ministers also agreed to discuss and introduce investment projects in potential fields such as telecommunications, digital transformation, cyber security, mining, industrial and consumer goods production, processing industry development, agricultural export, civil construction, infrastructure development, education and training, healthcare, tourism, etc.

The two Prime Ministers also had in-depth discussions on international and regional issues of mutual concern, agreeing to continue promoting close coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums, especially within the framework of the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement, contributing to maintaining peace, stability and cooperation in each region and in the world.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali welcomed and wished Vietnam a successful organization of the P4G Summit, contributing to global efforts on green and sustainable development.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that Vietnam is ready to act as a bridge to promote cooperation between ASEAN and Ethiopia, and hopes that Ethiopia will support Vietnam in promoting relations with the African Union (AU) and African countries; and is ready to support Ethiopia in hosting the P4G Summit in 2027.

Regarding security and safety in maritime areas, the two sides agreed on the importance of the East Sea and the Red Sea in international maritime traffic. The two sides agreed on the settlement of disputes by peaceful means, on the basis of compliance with international law, contributing to the maintenance of peace, stability, security, safety, freedom of aviation and navigation in the two regions.

After the talks, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali witnessed the signing ceremony of cooperation documents including: Memorandum of Understanding on trade cooperation between the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam and the Ministry of Trade and Integration of Ethiopia, Memorandum of Understanding on educational cooperation between the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam and the Ministry of Education of Ethiopia.

Previously, the two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the Vietnam Federation of Commerce and Industry and the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Association.

During the visit, the Vietnamese side granted a Letter of Approval to Ethiopian Airlines to open a direct flight connecting the capitals of the two countries. The only direct flight to date will be implemented to facilitate trade connections between the two countries in particular and between Vietnam and Africa in general.

The Ethiopian Prime Minister respectfully invited Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to pay an official visit to Ethiopia to continue promoting bilateral cooperation in the coming time. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh happily accepted the invitation and asked the two countries' foreign ministries to arrange a suitable time.

According to VNA

Source: https://baobacgiang.vn/thu-tuong-pham-minh-chinh-hoi-dam-voi-thu-tuong-ethiopia-abiy-ahmed-ali-postid416175.bbg