Cuong had a busy schedule that included a reception at La Moneda Palace by his counterpart, Gabriel Boric, meetings with the heads of the two chambers of Congress and with businessmen and a visit to the family of the late President Salvador Allende.

Both dignitaries presided over the signing of four cooperation agreements on agriculture, defense, culture and export promotion on Monday.

“Chile and Vietnam have an important long-standing relationship,” Boric said, noting that the former country was one of the first to recognize independent Vietnam during Allende’s presidency.

“The Chile-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement came into force a decade ago, making Vietnam our largest trading partner in Southeast Asia and the twentieth largest in the world”, Boric said.

Luong Cuong stressed “the importance and desire of Vietnam to further promote comprehensive partnership with Chile, one of its most important partners in the region.” “Although economic relations have advanced a lot since the FTA, there are still possibilities and opportunities for further development,” the president said, and expressed his conviction that ties will continue to expand in accordance with the aspirations of the two peoples.

The Vietnamese president and his delegation held a meeting with businessmen from the Society for the Promotion of Manufacturing (Sofofa), who valued the dynamism of the Vietnamese market and advocated for reaching agreements in areas such as mining, banking, finance and information technology. Cuong also met with the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Karol Cariola, head of the Chile-Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Group, and also contacted the President of the Senate, José García Ruminot.

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