Washington: Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation, and Egyptians Expatriates Dr. Badr Abdelatty met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Mr. Le Hoai Trung on the sidelines of his visit to Washington. Minister Abdelatty praised the development of bilateral relations between Egypt and Vietnam, which have reached the level of a comprehensive partnership.

According to State Information Service Egypt, Abdelatty expressed his aspiration to enhance the pace of high-level reciprocal visits between the two countries, particularly following the significant visit of the President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to Cairo in August 2015. During the meeting, Minister Abdelatty emphasized the commitment to further strengthen cooperation with Vietnam within various bilateral and multilateral frameworks, contributing to the development of joint cooperation.

Abdelatty commended the coordination and cooperation between the two countries' delegations in international forums, expressing hope for the continuation of this coordination to serve mutual interests. The Foreign Minister also stressed the importance of activating existing bilateral cooperation mechanisms and expressed anticipation for holding the sixth session of the Joint Governmental Committee in Cairo, the third session of the Joint Sub-Committee for Industrial and Commercial Cooperation in Vietnam, and a new round of political consultations in the coming period.

Abdelatty highlighted the opportunities offered by the Egyptian market, positioning it as a gateway to Arab, African, and European markets, given Egypt's network of regional trade agreements and development projects within the Suez Canal Economic Zone. The Foreign Minister emphasized the importance of strengthening economic and investment relations, explaining the need to increase Egyptian exports to the Vietnamese market, especially agricultural products, and to promote mutual investments. He expressed appreciation for existing Vietnamese investments in Egypt and affirmed the government's interest in attracting further Vietnamese investments in sectors such as software, technology, communications, semiconductor, and artificial intelligence.

Minister Abdelatty also stressed the importance of strengthening Egypt's institutional ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), given its close relations with ASEAN member states and its status as one of the first Arab and African countries to sign the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation with ASEAN in 2016. Abdelatty commended the role ASEAN plays at both the regional and international levels.