Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

The visits are made at the invitation of his Kazakhstan, Algerian, Portuguese and Bulgarian counterparts - Karim Massimov, Abdelmalek Sellal, Pedro Passos Coelho and Boyko Metodiev Borisov, respectively.

Viet Nam and the Customs Union (including Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan) started their FTA negotiations since March 28, 2013. The two sides signed the Declaration to conclude the negotiations on December 15, 2014.

Since January 1, 2015, the Customs Union has become the Eurasian Economic Union, which consists Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. After eight official negotiation rounds and a number of mid-term meetings, the VN-EEU FTA will be signed officially.

The signing of the VN-EEU FTA will create an open and sustainable legal framework for the economic development between Viet Nam and members of the Union as well as promote the bilateral relations and exchange measures to officially launch the Agreement between Viet Nam and these nations.

Viet Nam and Algeria set up their diplomatic relations in 1962. The two-way trade turnover in 2014 reached nearly US$250 million, which was mainly contributed from Viet Nam’s exports, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

In the first quarter of this year, Viet Nam gained nearly US$70 million from exporting to Algeria. Algeria is the third largest importer of Viet Nam in Africa. Currently, around 1,200 Vietnamese workers are working in Algeria.

The two countries signed a number of crucial Agreements in terms of cooperation in economics, science and technology, trade, cooperation in culture and information, encouragement and protection of investment, health and trade promotion.

Bulgaria is one of the first ten nations in the world establishing diplomatic ties with Viet Nam since the 1950s.

On March 2001, the two sides inked the new Agreement on economics and trade, specializing the most-favored nation mechanism for each other.

In 2014, the two-way trade value attained nearly US$90 million. As of December 2014, Bulgaria poured more than US$31 million in 10 projects in Viet Nam.

Cooperative activities in terms of education-training, culture, tourism, science-technology, national security-defense and labor between the two nations have gained positive achievements over the recent times.

Establishing the diplomatic ties in 1975, Viet Nam and Portugal have maintained the exchanges of delegations at all levels and supported each other at multi-lateral forums, especially at the United Nations.

The two-way trade value witnessed remarkable growth from US$90 million in 2008 to nearly US$370 million in 2014.

The PM’s official visits to Algeria, Portugal and Bulgaria show the comprehensive cooperative policy between Viet Nam and other countries in Europe and Africa.

The visits also aim to accelerate new cooperative frames, attract foreign businesses to invest in Viet Nam and discuss measures to enhance the bilateral relations with these nations.

By Thuy Dung