General Secretary and President To Lam and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation departed Hanoi on the morning of September 30 for a state visit to Mongolia following an invitation by Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh.

This marks the first State visit to Mongolia by a Vietnamese President in 16 years, immediately after the occasion of the two countries celebrating the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties.

Both nations are two traditional friends, whilst they enjoy a long-standing close relationship. The two countries officially established diplomatic relations on November 17, 1954, with Mongolia being one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with the Vietnamese side.

The two sides have regularly intensified high-level and all-level visits, most notably President Ho Chi Minh's visit to Mongolia in July, 1955, and the visit to the country by First Secretary of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party and Chairman of the Council of Ministers in September 1959, which laid a solid foundation for the development of bilateral ties.

Over the past 70 years, the friendship between the two nations has stood the test of time. Both countries have firmly maintained their mutual trust and given each other selfless assistance during the past struggle for the causes of national independence and reunification, as well as the current reform and integration.

Over the years, bilateral co-operation has grown steadily across a variety of fields with increased delegation exchanges being made at high and all levels. Last year witnessed Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh pay a state visit to Vietnam in November.

Economic, trade, and investment co-operation between the two countries has been strongly promoted while trade promotion and business connection activities being regularly organised in many different forms, offering optimal conditions for businesses of both sides to further expand relations and build ties and grow investment opportunities.

Bilateral trade turnover has increased by 2.3 times in recent times from US$4 million in 2017 to US$85 million in 2022, reaching US$132 million in 2023.

During the past seven months, bilateral trade turnover hit US$65.5 million. Major Vietnamese export items to Mongolia include agricultural products, food, coffee, pharmaceuticals, beer, some types of modern medicine, wooden household goods, electronic components, computers, phones, garments, and handicrafts.

Most notably, progress has been seen in collaboration in culture, tourism, education, and people-to-people exchanges. The two sides signed an agreement on visa exemptions for each other’s citizens holding ordinary passports in November, 2013, thereby creating more favourable conditions for people-to-people exchange activities.

The two countries' senior leaders have signed numerous co-operation agreements such as a Memorandum of Understanding on economic and trade ties in 2021, a Memorandum of Understanding on cultural collaboration in 2022, a Memorandum of Understanding on co-operation on immigration management, and a Memorandum of Understanding on agricultural co-operation in 2022.

Political, diplomatic, security, and defence relations have all seen positive developments, with both countries having achieved a high political understanding and trust, with priority given to developing ties.

The two countries have co-ordinated and offered mutual support at regional and international forums such as the UN, UNESCO, the Non-Aligned Movement, the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), and the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).

Mongolia highly values ​​the strong traditional relationship between the two countries and aspires to full tap into the existing potential to foster the increasingly deep relationship in multiple fields such as economics, trade, investment, agriculture, education, culture, labour, security, and defence. Since 1979, both sides have held 18 meetings of the Intergovernmental Committee as a way of boosting strong bilateral co-operation.

Over the past 70 years of diplomatic relations, the traditional friendship between the two countries has been continuously consolidated and developed amid the international and regional situation continuing to experience fluctuations.

The Vietnamese side consistently values ​​and wishes to further deepen the traditional friendship with Mongolia. In turn, the Mongolian side greatly values ​​its relationship with the nation, considering the country to be its most important partner in Southeast Asia.

Source: VOV