President Trần Đại Quang: “The multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Israel has developed positively over the years. We underscored that economic and science and technology cooperation are the priority of the bilateral cooperation, and that science and technology should become a key area of cooperation in the coming time. We also set the target of raising bilateral trade up to 3 billion USD in the coming years.”
 
President Reuven Rivlin this morning (Monday, 20 March 2017) began his State Visit to Vietnam as he was received at an official welcome ceremony hosted by President of Vietnam, Trần Đại Quang, at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi. The two Presidents stood together for the national anthems, and reviewed a guard of honor, before holding a working meeting.  Following their talks, both presidents delivered media statements.
 
“I was happy to welcome you in Jerusalem two years ago and it is a great honor for me to stay here in Hanoi," said the President in his introduction and thanked his host for the warm reception he received. 
 
The President went on to say, "My visit here is an expression of the growing friendship which between Vietnam and Israel. We in Israel can appreciate the ancient people of Vietnam, and Vietnam as a sovereign, unified and independent country. We consider Vietnam as a leader in the global free-market, and we follow with admiration the stable economic growth in your country."
 
"We came here with a vision and belief that the cooperation between us, with Israeli technology and know-how and Vietnamese creativity and productivity can contribute to promoting and improving the lives of many. Together we can promote nutritional security, advanced agriculture, water technology, education, healthcare, high-tech and cyber."
 
"We hope that during this visit we will be able to significantly advance the formulation of an inclusive free trade agreement between Israel and Vietnam," the President said, and added, "Such an agreement would remove the barriers over the full realization of the potential for cooperation between our two countries. As I said we are interested not only in economic relations but in developing bilateral relations and strengthening our cooperation and scope of activity. In this context, we view with great importance the promotion of the two agreements for cooperation that are currently on the agenda: the agreement on industrial research and development, and the agreement on collaboration in the fields of science and technology."
 
"In an era in which the world's super powers are changing their interactions in the global sphere, there is room for regional powers to develop and take responsibility", said the President in his concluding remarks and stressed, "I believe that Israel and Vietnam are both leaders in their own region. Cooperation between our states will promote the prosperity and growth of the two countries as well as contribute to the stability and prosperity of the two regions. We are only at the starting line, but I am confident that the friendship between Israel and Vietnam will prosper and develop."
 
Vietnamese President Trần Đại Quang greeted the President upon his visit and said, “I am very delighted to say that the President and I have had very fruitful talks. The State Visit to Vietnam by President and First Lady Rivlin is truly significant and shows that Israeli leaders attach to priority to deepening the friendship and cooperation between the two countries. The multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Israel has developed positively over the years especially in trade, culture, science and technology, education and training - and I am confident that this visit marks another milestone in the friendship and cooperation between the two countries. The President and I have reviewed all the aspects of the bilateral cooperation and it was important that we were able to agree on the ways to further deepen the bilateral cooperation with even greater substance. We agreed on the need to increase the exchange of delegations at all levels and encourage direct cooperation between ministries, agencies and local authorities in both countries. We spoke highly of the existing cooperation including the inter-governmental commission and political consultations, and have agreed to improve the effectiveness of these mechanisms. We also exchanged views on the national and regional security landscape and share concerns over the rise of terrorism. We both underlined that cooperation has an important role to play in resolving disputes, fighting terrorism and maintaining world peace and stability.”
 
He continued and said, “Vietnam reaffirms its consistent position that all disputes must be resolved by peaceful means, on the basis of respect for international law. On the Middle East peace process, Vietnam reaffirms its support for all regional and international efforts and efforts by the parties concerned in order to achieve comprehensive and just solutions to bring lasting solutions to bring peace to the people of Palestine, Israel, and others in the region, and to the establishment of an independent and sovereign state of Palestine coexisting alongside the State of Israel.”
 
President Trần Đại Quang went on to say, “We have had extensive discussions on economic cooperation among other areas of cooperation, and we underscored that economic and science and technology cooperation are the priority of the bilateral cooperation, and that science and technology should become a key area of cooperation in the coming time. We also agreed to work closely to make good use of the fact that both economies are mutually complementary with huge potentials. We also set the target of raising bilateral trade up to 3 billion USD in the coming years. We also pledged to encourage businesses, cities, and provinces in both countries to forge partnerships in a number of priority areas, such as hi-tech, agriculture, human resources development, water treatment, besides which we also have extensive exchange of cultural, education, training, and tourism cooperation. We welcome the signing of the agreement on science and technology for innovation, research and development which would provide practical support for Israeli and Vietnamese businesses in science and technology research and innovation. Vietnam welcomes the high level Israeli delegation including the many businesses accompanying the President, to participate in the two Israel-Vietnam business conferences held in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and I hope that many more deals between Israeli and Vietnamese partners will be made."