This is her first official visit to Vietnam, taking place in the context when Vietnam and Myanmar are enjoying active development in their bilateral relations and increasing mutual trust and cooperation.
    |
 |
|
State Councilor, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister of the President’s Office of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi. Photo: VNA |
Vietnam and Myanmar have maintained and developed their relations since an earlier time in the 20th century. In 1947, while Vietnam was still in the resistance war against the French colonists, the country had already set up an information office in Yangon (former capital of Myanmar) then upgraded the office to the representative agency of the Vietnam Government in 1948. In 1954, Myanmar Prime Minister U Nu visited Vietnam and in 1958 President Ho Chi Minh of Vietnam paid a visit to Myanmar. Though still experiencing a lot of hardships, Myanmar has always reserved a lot of support for the people of Vietnam, both then in the struggle for national salvation as well as now in the current cause of national development and protection. After Vietnam’s liberation of the South and national reunification, the two sides upgraded their relations, from previously exchanging consuls-general to ultimately exchanging ambassadors on May 28 1975.
Since then, the two sides have regularly exchanged delegations at all levels. Various cooperation mechanisms have been established and put into operation. Most recently, during the state-level visit to Myanmar of Secretary General Nguyen Phu Trong in August 2017, the two sides issued the joint statement on the establishment of the comprehensive cooperative partnership, marking a new milestone in the bilateral relations. Earlier, Vietnam and Myanmar established the Vietnam-Myanmar Parliamentary Friendship Group and the Myanmar-Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Group in June 2013. In August 2014, the Vietnam-Myanmar Friendship Association was formed. In 2015, the two sides held a number of celebratory activities on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic relations (May 28).
The two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and Myanmar reached USD 434.7 million in 2015 and USD 548.3 million in 2016, exceeding the target of USD 500 million set by high-level leaders of the two countries. In 2017, the value reached USD 828.3 million. Vietnam has become the seventh biggest investor in Myanmar with 70 projects at a total investment of nearly USD 2 billion, including investment projects by BIDV and the Military Industry and Telecoms group (Viettel). During the visit to Myanmar of Secretary General Nguyen Phu Trong, the two sides signed the MOU on cooperation between the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam and the Ministry of Trade of Myanmar. Vietnam and Myanmar also regularly run the mechanisms of the joint bilateral cooperation committees and the joint trade sub-committees.
The mechanism of bilateral security dialogue has also been effectively implemented and at present the two countries have been boosting cooperation in building and completing the legal framework for cooperation on prevention and suppression of crimes and on some penal issues. In terms of defense cooperation, Vietnam and Myanmar signed an agreement on defense cooperation in 2011. Practical results have also been seen in cooperation in the field of education and training.
Vietnam-Myanmar cooperation in other areas such as oil and gas, tourism, transport, telecommunications, agriculture, finance-banking have been promoted. The two countries also regularly support each other in regional and other international fora such as the UN, ASEAN, NAM, the Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam cooperation body, etc.
Vietnam and Myanmar have been actively bolstering their bilateral traditional friendly relations and cooperation in various areas. On that basis, we strongly believe that the visit of State Councilor, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister of the President’s Office of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi to Vietnam will yield fruitful results, contributing to boosting the comprehensive cooperative partnership between Vietnam and Myanmar as well as peace, security and development of the Southeast Asian region.
The People’s Army Newspaper
Translated by Huu Duong