Nairobi (VNA) – Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Hang paid a working trip to Kenya from February 20-21.

During a meeting with Kenyan Prime Cabinet Secretary and CS for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi, Deputy Minister Hang, acting as a Special Envoy of the Vietnamese Prime Minister, conveyed PM Pham Minh Chinh’s greetings and congratulations to his Kenyan counterpart on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties this year.

Sharing Vietnam’s vision and priorities for the P4G Summit “Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030” scheduled for April 16-17 in Hanoi, she conveyed PM Chinh’s invitation to high-ranking Kenyan leaders to the event.

Vietnam wishes to deepen its friendship and cooperation with Kenya in a more effective and practical manner, he said, hoping that Mudavadi would direct efforts to enhance bilateral collaboration across politics-diplomacy, economy, trade, investment, tourism, and agriculture, while offering mutual support at multilateral forums.

Mudavadi, for his part, praised Vietnam’s development achievements and its growing global role, acknowledging the country’s vision and responsible contributions to promoting sustainable development.

After 30 years of diplomatic ties, now is the time to create new breakthroughs in bilateral cooperation across various sectors, he said.

Underscoring the importance of investment cooperation and Kenya’s vast economic potential, Mudavadi welcomed the recent progress in bilateral investment, particularly the milestone of a Vietnamese company winning a bid for a large-scale housing project in Kenya for the first time. He also encouraged Vietnamese firms to explore more opportunities and actively seek partnerships and investment prospects in Kenya.

During talks with Abraham Korir Sing’Oei, Principal Secretary of Foreign Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, Hang stressed that Vietnam and Kenya, two rapidly developing economies with growing global and regional influence, hold vast potential for enhanced coordination at both bilateral and multilateral levels.

She proposed facilitating high-level exchanges, strengthening engagement between business communities, and coordination in developing cooperation programmes and projects via exchanging lists of potential export products and setting realistic trade targets to boost two-way trade in the coming years.

The Vietnamese official also called on Kenya to support negotiations and signing of key agreements and treaties to establish a comprehensive legal framework for bilateral cooperation, facilitating travel, people-to-people exchanges, and tourism.

Sing’Oei, in reply, hailed Vietnam as a model of development thanks to strategic vision, perseverance, self-reliance, and determination.

Affirming Kenya’s commitment to supporting Vietnamese companies in establishing partnerships and investments in Kenya, he highlighted Kenya’s role as a gateway for Vietnamese firms to access the East African Community (EAC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), and the broader African market, especially in such priority sectors as information and communication technology, farm produce processing, manufacturing, and construction.

Both sides agreed to diversify cooperation in the areas where they possess complementary strengths and potential, such as agriculture, tourism, aviation, electric vehicles, innovation, nature conservation, and hydrogen energy.

On global and regional developments, they shared common stance on key global issues and underscored the importance of amplifying the voices of developing countries, offering mutual support based on respect of multilateralism, international law, and the United Nations Charter, while promoting collaboration within the United Nations, the G77, and inter-regional partnerships involving organisations of which both countries are members.

Turning to the East Sea issue, Hang urged Kenya to back ASEAN's stance on settling maritime disputes through peaceful means, in full respect of international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982).

Following the talks, host and guest signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a political consultation mechanism between the two foreign ministries. Hang extended an invitation for her Kenyan counterpart to visit Vietnam soon and attend the first round of political consultation. Sing’Oei gladly accepted the invitation.

In a conversation with Deputy Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, Hang shared Vietnam’s achievements and reaffirmed the country's strong commitment to sustainable development, stressing that Vietnam stays ready to play a more active role in global efforts toward this goal.

Deputy Executive Director Mrema lauded the Vietnamese Government for its proactive efforts toward the net-zero emissions by 2050, and welcomed Vietnam’s ongoing development of a carbon market as part of its green transition strategy.

UNEP stands ready to assist Vietnam in energy transition and promoting a circular economy in high-emission industries, including plastic manufacturing, electronics, apparel, and chemicals, she said.

During a working session with Chairman of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) Bedi Jaswinder, Hang acknowledged Kenya’s role as a key trade gateway for East Africa and hoped that KEPSA would promote trade facilitation activities to help businesses from both countries access each other's markets.

On the occasion, she invited the Chairman to visit Vietnam soon and sign cooperation agreements with Vietnamese business associations.

♔ According to the host, Kenyan enterprises are eager to explore opportunities of cooperation with Vietnam in apparel, electronics, agriculture and construction./.