Timor-Leste President concludes state visit to Việt Nam

Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta visits the telecom group Viettel before wrapping up his four-day trip to Việt Nam on Saturday. — VNA/VNS Photo Tuấn Anh

HÀ NỘI — Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta left Hà Nội on Saturday afternoon, wrapping up his four-day state visit to Việt Nam at the invitation of President Tô Lâm.

During his stay, the leader paid tribute to late President Hồ Chí Minh at his mausoleum and laid wreaths at the monument to war heroes and martyrs on Bắc Sơn Street in Hà Nội.

He attended a red-carpet welcome ceremony and held talks with President Tô Lâm. Following the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of an agreement on bilateral visa exemption for diplomatic and official passport holders. They visited the Hồ Chí Minh Museum and attended a honour banquet.

The Timor-Leste President had meetings with Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính and National Assembly Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn.

During the talks and meetings, the Vietnamese leaders emphasised that President Ramos-Horta’s third visit to Việt Nam will contribute to creating new momentum for cooperation between the two countries. They also thanked the leaders and people of Timor-Leste for their good sentiments towards Việt Nam.

They congratulated Timor-Leste for its socio-economic achievements, expressing their wish that the country will successfully realise its plan on national strategic development in the 2011-2030 period, helping it integrate more deeply into the world and making positive contributions to peace, prosperity, and development in the region.

For his part, Ramos-Horta expressed admiration for the revolutionary cause and nation building, and development efforts by Vietnamese leaders and people, and described Việt Nam as a model of development. He affirmed Timor-Leste’s appreciation of and desire to further strengthen the friendly relations with Việt Nam.

He took the occassion to once again extend his deepest condolences to Việt Nam over the passing of Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng.

The leaders of the two countries expressed satisfaction at the notable progress in bilateral relations and the maintenance of substantial high-level exchanges and interactions. They discussed major orientations for future cooperation, agreeing to promote all-level exchanges and meetings; effectively implement the Framework Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation; expedite the organisation of the first meeting of the Việt Nam-Timor-Leste Joint Committee at the Foreign Ministerial level; and explore the establishment of new bilateral mechanisms that meet the cooperation demand of the two nations.

The two sides also agreed to effectively utilise the potential for cooperation in other important areas, including agriculture, fisheries, telecommunications, education, oil and gas industry, infrastructure development, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges.

Discussing regional and international issues of common concern, the two sides agreed to continue enhancing cooperation and supporting each other at international and regional organisations. Vietnamese leaders affirmed the country’s support for Timor-Leste to soon become a full member of ASEAN.

As part of his visit, President Ramos-Horta engaged in an exchange programme with students of the Diplomatic Academy of Việt Nam (DAV) in Hà Nội, made a field trip to the Việt Nam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) in the northern province of Bắc Ninh, and had working sessions with representatives of the Thái Nguyên Uninversity and the telecom group Viettel. — VNS