Nigeria’s Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, will depart Abuja on Saturday for the Socialist Republic of Vietnam for a high-level bilateral engagement in the Southeast nation.
According to a statement signed by Laolu Akande, Senior Presidential Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Osinbajo is scheduled to meet with Vietnamese President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc; Vice President, Mrs. Vo Thi Anh Xuan; the Prime Minister, Pham Minh Chinh, other government officials and the business community.
The statement is titled “High-level visit to Vietnam to meet President Osinbajo, VP, Prime Minister and others”.
“The mutual visit of the VP to the Southeast Asian country will further strengthen the trade and bilateral relations between the two countries,” Akande stated.
Although Nigeria and Vietnam have long maintained diplomatic relations since 1976, Vice President Osinbajo will be the top Nigerian government official to visit the Southeast Asian country after former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
During his visit to SRV, the Vice President is expected to witness the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding and Agreement between Nigeria and Vietnam, as well as hold high-level diplomatic discussions with his counterpart in Vietnam, and trade, commerce, agriculture and other important issues. , technology and innovation.
Professor Osinbajo will also participate in a Vietnam Chamber of Commerce Business Forum aimed at matching entrepreneurs from the two countries.
With the opportunities in agriculture and technology in Nigeria and Vietnam, the discussions between the two countries would be on the mutual benefits of effective cooperation in these sectors, thereby deepening the friendship and trade relations of the two countries.
PUNCH reported that in October 2019, the then Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam, Vuong Hue, called on Nigeria to strengthen trade and bilateral relations between the two countries.
He met with Prof. Hue Osinbajo, other top Nigerian government officials and also interacted with the Nigeria-Vietnam Business Association.
The Deputy Prime Minister, who was accompanied to Nigeria by senior Vietnamese Government officials and businessmen at the time, stated that Nigeria was then Vietnam’s largest trading partner in Africa.
Trade between the two countries was 280 million dollars in 2014 and increased to more than 500 million dollars in 2019.
The VP will conclude his visit to Vietnam on Wednesday, December 7, 2022.
