President Luong Cuong and his wife arrive in Cairo, Egypt

The President and his wife began a state visit to Egypt at the invitation of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and his wife.

Welcoming President Luong Cuong and his wife Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet and the Vietnamese delegation at the airport, on the Egyptian side were Minister of Education and Training Mohammed Abdel Latif, Director of the Presidential Protocol Department Mohammad Yehia. On the Vietnamese side, there were Vietnamese Ambassador to Egypt Nguyen Huy Dung and his wife; Vietnamese Ambassadors to Algeria, Morocco, Mozambique, South Africa, Nigeria, Tanzania; and officials and staff of the Vietnamese Embassy in Egypt.

This is the first state visit by a key Vietnamese leader to Egypt in seven years.

President Luong Cuong is expected to hold high-level talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi; meet with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Senate President Abdel Wahab Abdel-Razek and House of Representatives Speaker Hanafy El-Gebaly; deliver a policy speech at the Arab League Headquarters; meet with leaders of the Egyptian Communist Party and representatives of Egyptian leftist and progressive parties.

The President also met with officials and staff of the Embassy, neighboring agencies and Vietnamese people living, studying and working in Egypt.

The visit of President Luong Cuong is an important foreign political event of both countries, with special significance, demonstrating the commitment to create breakthroughs, elevate relations, consolidate political trust, further deepen the traditional friendship, thereby creating momentum, opening a new phase of cooperation, especially in economics and trade between Vietnam and Egypt as well as African countries.

Egypt has a very important geostrategic position, is one of the most influential countries in the Middle East, Africa and the Arab world, and is the headquarters of the Arab League.

Vietnam and Egypt have a long history and special ties since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1963. Since then, the traditional friendship between the two countries has achieved remarkable achievements and expanded in many fields, consolidated on the basis of friendship, equality, mutual respect, and mutually beneficial cooperation, for the benefit of the people of the two countries.

As the first North African country to recognize Vietnam as having full market economy status (November 2013), Egypt is an important market for Vietnam, with trade turnover currently reaching 541.36 million USD, the highest in the North African region, of which Vietnam had a trade surplus of 472.63 million USD including items such as computers, electronic components, seafood, agricultural products, fibers, textiles...

Vietnam is a member of ASEAN while Egypt is one of the key countries in the Middle East - North Africa (MENA) region. Both regions are strategically important in global economic, political and security issues; both are developing economies, with a need for cooperation in trade, investment, agricultural development, industry, energy, and digital transformation...

Vietnam can access the MENA market through Egypt (Egypt's strategic location at the crossroads of Asia - Africa - Europe), while Egypt can consider Vietnam as a gateway to export goods to the large ASEAN market.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/chu-tich-nuoc-luong-cuong-va-phu-nhan-den-cairo-ai-cap-2428303.html