The two countries set up diplomatic ties in September 1997. Haiti opened its embassy in Ha Noi in December 2013 and appointed a resident Charge d’Affaires to Viet Nam. Currently, the Vietnamese ambassador to Cuba concurrently takes charge of Haiti affairs.

Bilateral relations have progressed through their close coordination at international organizations and multilateral forums. The progress culminated in the Haitian Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe's official visit to Viet Nam in December 2013, bringing the bilateral relations to new heights.

Viet Nam chiefly imports garment accessories, paper pulp, iron scraps, and animal food, and it exports rice, garments, wood and timber products, chemicals, plastic products and others to Haiti.

The two countries have signed a number of important cooperation agreements, such as a framework agreement on trade and investment in July 2013, a memorandum of understanding on rice trading in December 2012, and a cooperation agreement between the two agricultural ministries in December 2012.

They have now set their sights on establishing a joint committee on economic, trade and investment cooperation./.

By Kim Loan