Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam’s newly-appointedAmbassador to the Republic of Marshall Islands Vu Hong Nam has presented hiscredentials to President Hilda Heine.

At a later reception for the Vietnamese diplomat, President Heine highlyevaluated bilateral relations between Marshall and Vietnam in recent years,expressing her gratitude to Vietnam for successfully organizing the 6th Global Environment Facility Assembly (GEF 6) in thecentral city of Da Nang in 2018.

She also applauded the outcomes of her meeting with Vietnamese Prime MinisterNguyen Xuan Phuc on the sidelines of GEF 6, saying that this was an important milestone inthe relations between the two countries.

The President suggested the two nations work closely with the internationalcommunity in protecting the environment, preventing global warming and sea levelrise, expressing her hope that the two countries will further enhance cooperationin tourism and air transport, and promote goods exchanges.

President Heine also called on Vietnamese firms to invest in Marshall,especially in the fields that Vietnam has strength, while asking Vietnam tohelp the country ensure food security.

For his part, Nam affirmed Vietnam always attaches importance to relations withand thanked Marshall for its support to Vietnam in recent years.

He also spoke highly Marshall’s stance and policy on issues related toprotecting international law and respecting the UN1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), affirming that Vietnam hasactively joined in protecting the global environment and preventing globalwarming.

The VietnameseGovernment always supports and encourages enterprises of the two countries toexpand cooperation.

The same day, Marshall Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade John Silk receivedthe Vietnamese diplomat, during which the two officials discussed the bilateralcooperation in the international arena, and asserted mutual support in issuesconcerning the protection of international law and UNCLOS 1982.

They also debated ways to foster trade ties between the two nations, especiallyin agriculture and fishery.

Silk hoped thatthe two sides will consider and sign important agreements soon to create a foundationfor expanding the bilateral trade cooperation, including those on air transportand shipping, and facilitation of the granting of visas to citizens of bothnations.

Nam also metMinister of Natural Resources and Business of Marshall Dennis Momotaro. Theydiscussed how to prevent the disposal of waste into sea, especially plasticwaste, which threatens the fishing and tourism industries of many countries worldwide.

During his stay in Marshall, Nam visited economic and tourism agencies, and schoolsin the country.-VNA