Havana (VNA) – Vietnam stands ready to step up relations with Haiti,Vietnamese Ambassador to Cuba and Haiti Nguyen Trung Thanh affirmed whilepresenting his credentials to Haitian President Jovenel Moise during his tripto the Caribbean Sea nation from June 11-16.

During the meeting, the Vietnamese diplomat suggested both sides enhancedelegation exchanges, bolster cooperation in economy, trade, investment,telecommunications and agriculture as well as coordinate closely atmultilateral forums.

On the occasion, he conveyed President Tran Dai Quang’s invitation to the Haitianleader to visit Vietnam.

For his part, Haitian President Moise expressed his admiration for Vietnam’s culture,history and achievements in the Doi moi (reform) process and internationalintegration. He appreciated Vietnam’s good will and expressed his hope tofurther the bilateral ties with Vietnam.

ThePresident also spoke highly of the telecommunications cooperation projectbetween the two nations. NATCOM, a joint venture between Viettel and theHaitian government, has contributed substantially to the infrastructuredevelopment and media connection in the country.

This is a vivid illustration for the practical and effective cooperation ofboth sides, he noticed.

Meetingwith Haitian Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant, Ambassador Thanh congratulatedHaiti on its recent success in economy, society and diplomacy and briefed thehost on Vietnam’s achievements in Doi moi and global integration.

Lafontant committed to creating favourable conditions for Vietnameseenterprises to effectively and sustainably expand their investment in Haiti, callingfor more Vietnam’s investment in agriculture and garment and sharing of experiencein response to climate change and sustainable development.

Regarding regional issues, including issues in the East Sea, the Haitian PMsaid that cooperation is necessary to promote peace, stability, security, andrespect for international regulations. All of the disputes, including those atsea, must be handled in a peaceful manner based on international principles andregulations, especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea(UNCLOS) 1982, he said.

During his stay, Ambassador Thanh also had meetings with Minister of ForeignAffairs and Religious Affairs Antonio Rodrigue, and Minister of the InteriorJean Marie Raynando Brunet, during which they discussed measures to promotebilateral and multilateral relations in the coming time. They said that bothsides should cooperate in potential fields like telecommunications,agriculture, food security, energy and trade.

The two sides agreed to accelerate the operation of a joint committee on tradeand investment and kick off negotiations towards signing an InvestmentPromotion and Protection Agreement and the Double Taxation AvoidanceAgreement.-VNA