Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and visiting Greek PM Kostas Karamanlis (Photo: VNA)

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam has experienced its busiest week of international relations since the beginning of the year, welcoming visits by the presidents of Germany and South Africa and the prime ministers of Kuwait and Greece.

The first of the four leaders to visit Vietnam last week was German President Horst Koehler, who began his three-day stay on May 21. President Koehler spoke highly of the achievements made by the Vietnamese people during the renewal process, the opening of the country’s foreign policies and its role in Southeast Asia. The president said Germany wanted to boost its wide-ranging cooperation with Vietnam, especially in economics, trade, culture and education, to become the country’s reliable partner.

The spokesman for the German President, Martin Kothe, said that the Bundestag would vote on a scheme to finance the construction of an underground rail route in Ho Chi Minh City in July. He said the German funding for this project could be up to 100 million euros ($134.6 million).

Vietnamese leaders described the visit by President Koehler, and the smooth implementation of high-level agreements between the two countries, as a new milestone in the friendly and cooperative ties between the two countries.

The Kuwaiti Prime Minister, Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, was the second foreign leader to visit Vietnam last week. The three-day visit, beginning May 23, was the first time a high-ranking delegation from the oil-rich state had come to Vietnam. During Sheikh Nasser’s visit, the two countries signed a treaty on investment protection, a protocol on forming a joint committee for economic, scientific and technological cooperation, and an agreement on cooperation between the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and its Kuwaiti counterpart, the KCCI.

The Persian Gulf country plans to pour about $500 million into the Nghi Son oil refinery in the central province of Thanh Hoa.
During his first official visit to Vietnam, from May 24 to 25, South African President Thabo Mbeki said the relationship between South Africa and Vietnam had tremendous growth potential.

Over the past 15 years, two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and South Africa had been limited and reached $154 million by 2006. In January 2006, a leading South African multinational, SAB Miller, announced a $22.5 million investment in the Vietnamese diary giant Vinamilk to brew beer in Vietnam – marking the first South African investment in Vietnam.

During President Mbeki’s visit, the two countries expressed their wishes to enhance bilateral relations in all spheres, particularly political relations and further cooperation in economies, culture, science and technology, education and healthcare.

The South African leader said his country supported Vietnam’s bid for a seat on the UN Security Council for 2008-09 term as a non-permanent member. He also revealed a decision to confirm that Vietnam’s economy is run under market regulations.

Both sides signed a treaty on visa exemptions for diplomatic and official passport holders, and a memorandum of understanding on a partnership forum.

At the end of last week, Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis paid his official visit to Vietnam from May 26-27. He held talks with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and President Nguyen Minh Triet. The talks focused on how the two countries could further enhance bilateral cooperation.

(Source: VNA)