To realise further development, both sides have committed to facilitating visits at all levels as well as diplomatic connections between their countries. Through the Joint Commission for Trade and Investment, they planned to expand co-ordination in areas of great potential such as telecommunications, food security, energy, trade and healthcare.
Both host and guest also pledged to nurture two-way trade and investment on the basis of equality and mutual benefit.
Discussing regional and global issues of shared interest, the leaders agreed to support each other at international organisations and multilateral forums for peace, stability and development in their regions and the world at large.
PM Lamothe hailed PM Dung’s visit, which he said has laid a firm foundation for the two-way relationship to grow through the establishment of legal mechanisms and frameworks conducive to co-operation. He revealed that negotiations were underway for a framework agreement on co-operation, investment promotion and protection, in addition to a visa waiver for diplomatic and official passport holders.
After the talks, the two PMs signed a Vietnam–Haiti joint statement and witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on joint energy activities.
* In his talk with Haitian President Michel Martelly the same morning, PM Dung said that Vietnam wishes to expand its co-operation with Haiti.
He congratulated the Haitian Government and people on their achievements in maintaining socio-economic stability, boosting economic integration and overcoming the devastating consequences of an earthquake that hit the country in January 2010.
He also hailed the outcomes of the ‘Five E’ Plan (employment, état de droit (rule of law), education, environment and energy) initiated by President Martelly in 2011.
“The Vietnamese people will never forget the valuable support given by Haiti to our past struggle for national independence and freedom”, he told his host.
The two leaders expressed the belief that the sound relationship between their nations will provide a strong grounding for advancing bilateral co-operation.
They noted with pleasure that Vietnam–Haiti relations have seen positive developments, especially since Haitian PM Lamothe’s official visit to Vietnam in December 2012.
The upturn was also demonstrated by the Haitian government’s 2013 opening of an embassy in Hanoi, the signing of a framework agreement on bilateral trade and investment, and enhanced co-operation in telecommunication and food security.
Both host and guest emphasised the need to develop economic and cultural co-operation on par with each side’s potential.
President Martelly said he hoped that through PM Dung’s visit to Haiti, the first by a Vietnamese leader, both sides would reach a consensus on measures to expand collaboration in agriculture, energy, infrastructure development and expert exchange.
The leaders also agreed that the two countries should promote consultation and co-ordination on regional and international issues while working closely with each other at multilateral forums to jointly navigate the ever-changing global geopolitical situation.
PM Dung conveyed President Truong Tan Sang’s invitation to President Martelly to visit Vietnam, and the President accepted it.
* The same day, PM Dung and National Assembly (NA) Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan met with Haitian Senate President Simon Dieuseul Desras and House of Representatives President Jacques Stevenson Thimoleon.
The Haitian legislators said the visit would open up a new chapter in relations between the two nations.
They spoke highly of Vietnamese NA leaders’ participation in the visit, saying that it shows the two countries’ appreciation of the role of the legislative bodies in fostering bilateral friendship and co-operation.
The two sides expressed satisfaction with the recent expansion of economic links, as demonstrated by food security co-operation and the efficient telecom model of NATCOM – a joint venture of Vietnam’s military telecom group, Viettel, and the Haitian government.
PM Dung said the aims of his visit include expanding Vietnam-Haiti relations in trade and perfecting a legal framework for bilateral co-operation.
On the occasion, he conveyed the invitation of NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung’s to the Haitian legislators to attend the 132nd General Assembly of the Inter-Parliament Union (IPU-132), which is scheduled for March 2015 in Vietnam.
Later the same day, PM Dung and his entourage laid a wreath at the monument to Haitian heroes and visited NATCOM headquarters.
