Vietnamese PM, FM call for broadening ties with Iran

Vietnam is resolved to boost its bilateral relations with Iran in various fields, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh stressed in two separate messages to the Iranian first vice-president on Monday. In a congratulatory message to Eshaq Jahangiri on appointment as Iran’s first vice-president, Tan Dung hailed Tehran-Hanoi friendly relations and urged both countries' officials to pave the way for bolstering bilateral relations. In a separate message, Binh Minh felicitated Mohammad Javad Zarif on winning the vote of confidence from Iranian Parliament and becoming new Iranian foreign minister, and hoped for expansion of mutual cooperation under new administration. In mid-May, Iranian and Vietnamese officials in a meeting in Hanoi reviewed the latest developments in the relations between the two countries, and underlined the necessity for boosting mutual cooperation. The meeting was held between former Iranian Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade Mehdi Qazanfari and Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang in the Vietnam's capital of Hanoi at the time. During the meeting, Qazanfari exchanged views on ways to develop relations and promote cooperation between the two countries with the Vietnamese president. The Iranian minister of industry, mines and trade called joint investment projects in direction of interests of both countries and expressed hope that by holding joint economic commission in future, the two countries witness growth of ties. Iran and Vietnam enjoy excellent and high potentials to develop economic cooperation, the Iranian minister said, and expressed the hope that the two nations would use the potentials to augment their trade ties. The Vietnamese president, for his part, expressed his country's readiness for expansion of economic cooperation with Iran on mutual interests. In April, Iranian and Vietnamese officials in a meeting in Tehran reviewed the latest developments in the relations between the two countries, and underlined the necessity for boosting mutual cooperation. The meeting was held between former Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi and visiting Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister in Asia and African Affairs Negovan Fung Nega.