(VOVWORLD) - Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, his spouse, and a high-ranking delegation of Vietnam arrived at Doha International Airport on Wednesday evening, beginning a three-day official visit to Qatar at the invitation of his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jasim Al-Thani.
 Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his spouse at Doha International Airport. (Photo: VNA) |
The leader and his entourage were greeted at the airport by Qatari Minister of State Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Sayed and Director of the Department of Protocol at the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ibrahim Yousuf Abdullah Fakhro, along with Vietnamese Ambassador to Qatar Nguyen Huy Hiep, and representatives of the Vietnamese community in the countries.
Qatar, the final stop on PM Chinh's trip to three Middle East countries, marks the first official visit by a Vietnamese Prime Minister to Qatar in 15 years and aims to make the relationship more comprehensive and effective in opening new markets, attracting investment, and cooperating in labor, education, culture, sports, tourism, people-to-people exchanges, climate change response, and emerging fields like clean energy, digital transformation, innovation, and the Halal industry.
Upon his arrival in Doha, PM Chinh received Sheikh Bandar Al Thani, Governor of the Qatar Central Bank (QCB) and Chairman of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and Sheikh Faisal Al Thani, QIA’s Asia-Africa Investment Director.
At the meeting, Mr Chinh praised the effectiveness of the QIA, the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar, its contributions to the economic development and investment of Qatar and the Middle East, and recent cooperation between the QIA and Vietnam’s State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC).
PM Chinh said investment cooperation between the two countries remains modest and called on the QIA to boost investment in Vietnam, focusing on strategic infrastructure projects, wind power projects, solar power projects, power storage systems, and power transmission.
The Prime Minister invited the QIA to send a working delegation to Vietnam to learn more about Vietnam’s key investment projects, participate in suitable projects, cooperate with SCIC, and consult with Vietnam on policies. He assured the Qataris that the Vietnamese Government protects the legitimate rights and interests of all investors.
Sheikh Bandar Al Thani said that, as an emerging market, Vietnam has many investment opportunities, and the QIA is ready to expand its investment in Vietnam and intends to send a working delegation to Vietnam to promote specific projects in the fields mentioned by PM Chinh.
Vietnam and Qatar officially established their diplomatic relations on February 8, 1993. Over the past 30 years, thanks to the efforts of high-ranking leaders and people of both countries, their multifaceted cooperation has seen significant developments in various fields.
Last year, two-way trade enjoyed a year-on-year surge of 32% to 497.2 million USD. Vietnam’s main imports included gas, plastics, and chemicals, while its key exports were aquatic products, electrical wires and cables, wooden products, and bamboo products.