Hanoi (VNA) ꦕ– President Tran Dai Quang on October 8 hosted separate receptions for Ambassadors of France, Canada, the Republic of Cyprus, Qatar, Croatia, Gambia and Turkmenistan, who presented credentials before taking office in Vietnam.

Receiving French Ambassador Bertrand Lortholary, Quang pledged all possible support to the ambassador during his tenure and hoped that he will visit many Vietnamese localities to gain a full insight into the country’s socio-economic development. Lortholary said his assignment is to concretise key orientations set by French President Francois Hollande and his Vietnamese counterpart during the recent State visit to Vietnam, including developing economic and defence links on par with bilateral political and diplomatic ties, facilitating young generations’ exchanges through French language training by opening a French Cultural House in Ho Chi Minh City and a French high school in Hanoi. Meeting Canadian Ambassador Ping Kitnikone, Quang suggested extending bilateral cooperation in science-technology, health care, labour, oil and gas, and banking. The guest informed that Canada will send a delegation of 90 academia representatives to Vietnam to learn about the potential of education collaboration, adding that Canada also pays attention to strengthening people-to-people exchange. In a conversation with Qatari Ambassador Mohamed Ismael Al-Emadi, the Vietnamese President thanked Qatar for backing Vietnam’s bid for a seat at the UNESCO Executive Council and the UN Socio-Economic Council, as well as welcoming Vietnamese workers and students. He affirmed that Vietnam wishes to push ahead with the practical and deep friendship and all-around cooperation with Qatar. The Qatari Ambassador, for his part, stressed that Qatar values ties with Vietnam, especially in the fields of economy, trade, investment, education and agriculture. Meanwhile, Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus Demetrios A.Theophylactou affirmed that the European country wants to reinforce ties with Vietnam in trade and people-to-people exchange. The Republic of Cyprus welcomes Vietnamese labourers to the country, he said. Demetrios A.Theophylactou said the two nations need to increase liaison at multilateral forums, adding that the Republic of Cyprus pledges to support Vietnam in boosting ties with the European Union. The host asked for support to Vietnamese businesses operating in tourism, agro-forestry processing, and suggested actively discussing the agreement on bilateral labour cooperation. In a reception for Ambassador of Gambia Abubacar Jah, the Vietnamese State leader proposed the two countries strengthen the exchange of all-level visits and people-to-people exchange to raise mutual understanding, as well as consider the possibility of joint work across farming and marine-based economy. Abubacar Jah said Gambian President Yahya Jammeh has devised a strategy to ensure food security and considers Vietnam the best partner in agriculture. In another meeting, President Quang asked Croatia to continue supporting Vietnam in running for the post of non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2020-2021 and member of the International Law Committee for 2017-2021. Croatian Ambassador Kreso Glavac wished the two countries will hold more sport exchanges in the near future, and informed the host that Croatian President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic hopes to further the exchange of visits at all levels and will visit Vietnam next year. Talking with Turkmenistani Ambassador Chinar Tajievna Rustamova, the Vietnamese President suggested facilitating visits to learn about cooperation opportunities in garment, footwear, farm produce, transport infrastructure, oil and gas, and construction materials. Rustamova said the two countries established a cooperation framework to advance ties in fields of strength and demand such as trade, education, energy, construction and transport infrastructure at a sidelines meeting of the UN General Assembly’s session last year.-VNA