Party General Secretary To Lam on Tuesday received Abiy Ahmed Ali, Ethiopian Prime Minister and President of the Prosperity Party (PP) in Hanoi on April 15 (Photo: VOV)

The Vietnamese Party leader said Vietnam always values its friendship and cooperation with African countries, including Ethiopia, suggesting both sides study and identify priority areas for cooperation in the coming period, based on the two countries' potential and needs, particularly in agriculture, trade, investment, science and technology, and people-to-people and business-to-business connectivity.

He welcomed Ethiopian Airlines' plan to launch a new direct flight route linking Addis Ababa with Hanoi in July, which will serve as the first direct air link between Vietnam and Africa.

Abiy Ahmed Ali said he hopes that Vietnam will share its experience in achieving rapid and sustainable socio-economic development and environmental protection.

He  said the Party, State, and Government of Ethiopia want to develop cooperative relations with Vietnam across various fields, particularly in investment, science and technology, agriculture, education and training, and people-to-people exchanges.

The two leaders agreed to continue enhancing delegation exchanges at all levels through all channels and proposed that the two sides establish representative offices in their respective countries to support and advance cooperation in the upcoming period.

The Vietnamese leader called on them to continue coordinating and supporting each other at multilateral forums and international organizations, particularly at the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement, and to serve as bridges for enhancing relations with key organizations of which they are a member, such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the African Union (AU).