Asia Pacific
16:44, 01-Mar-2019
Vietnam, DPRK to facilitate high-level visits, delegation exchanges
Updated
09:32, 02-Mar-2019
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The leaders of Vietnam and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) agreed on Friday to facilitate high-level visits, and expand the exchange of all-level delegations via the party, state and mass organization channels, Vietnam News Agency reported.
The consensus was reached during talks between General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President Nguyen Phu Trong and Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea and the State Affairs Commission of the DPRK Kim Jong Un, who is paying an official visit to Vietnam on Friday and Saturday.
They will effectively maintain regular dialogue and cooperation mechanisms, including deputy ministerial-level political consultation and an Inter-Governmental Committee on Economic, Scientific-Technological Cooperation; explore the possibility of mutually-beneficial collaboration in fields suitable for each side; and expand cultural, arts, sports, and people-to-people exchanges.
DPRK leader Kim Jong Un and Vietnam's President Nguyen Phu Trong shake hands at the President Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam, March 1, 2019. /VCG Photo
DPRK leader Kim Jong Un and Vietnam's President Nguyen Phu Trong shake hands at the President Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam, March 1, 2019. /VCG Photo
Vietnam treasures the traditional friendship with the DPRK and wants to further intensify ties between the two parties and countries, Trong said.
Kim, for his part, hoped to share experience in national construction and socio-economic development with Vietnam.
Earlier, the Vietnamese president held a welcome ceremony for Kim at the Presidential Palace of Vietnam. Click here for footage.
Also on Friday, Kim met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and top legislator Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.
Kim Jong Un's motorcade leaves a hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, March 1, 2019. /VCG Photo
Kim Jong Un's motorcade leaves a hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, March 1, 2019. /VCG Photo
Kim is on a two-day official visit to Vietnam after he concluded his summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi.
He is scheduled to leave Hanoi around noon on Saturday and depart from the country via the Dong Dang railway station on the border with China in the afternoon, a Vietnamese foreign ministry source said.
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The Vietnam model
Kim announced last April that the country will focus on economic development and he has reportedly showed a willingness to learn from Vietnam in developing the economy.
In 1986, Vietnam launched free-market reforms similar to China's reform and opening-up process which began in 1978. The reforms were called Doi Moi, which means renovation.
The cornerstone of Doi Moi was to transform the centrally planned economy into a market-oriented system capable of competing effectively in the international arena.
Learning from Vietnam is not a new idea. The Vietnam model has been discussed between the leaders of the two countries since the 1990s, and Kim sent a delegation to Hanoi in 2012 that was specifically focused on Vietnam's experience in reforms and market-oriented socialism.
During DPRK Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho's visit to Vietnam last December, he went to the Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park in Hanoi and the coastal province of Quang Ninh, an indication of the DPRK's intention to learn from Vietnam's experience of opening its economy. Both places have welcomed domestic and foreign investors.
(With inputs from Xinhua)
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