The agreement was reached during talks in Hanoi on October 22 between State President Nguyen Minh Triet and his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa who arrived in the capital the same day for an official three-day visit.
The two leaders agreed to expand mutually beneficial cooperation in other areas such as agriculture, aquaculture, oil and gas, mechanics, aviation services, maritime transport, construction, culture, education and health care.
They said that Vietnam and Sri Lanka should increase the exchange of delegations and maximise the cooperation mechanism of the Vietnam-Sri Lanka Joint Committee.
Mr Triet congratulated Sri Lanka on its recent victory over the fight against terrorism and expressed his belief that the country will make strides in national reconstruction.
Vietnam wants to strengthen traditional friendship and all-round cooperation with Sri Lanka, said Mr Triet.
For his part, President Rajapaksa praised Vietnam’s Renewal achievements and its increasing role in the international arena. He affirmed that Sri Lanka desires to foster cooperative ties with Vietnam in the context that the South Asian nation is entering the period of peace and stability.
He welcomed Vietnam’s decision to re-open its representative office in capital Colombo in 2010, considering it a new chance for the two countries to strengthen friendship and cooperation.
Both host and guest compared notes on regional and international issues of mutual concern. Mr Triet said that Vietnam supports Sri Lanka in expanding ties with ASEAN when the former takes over the ASEAN presidency in 2010.
President Rajapaksa invited President Triet to visit Sri Lanka and the invitation was accepted with pleasure.
After talks, they witnessed the signing of a number of cooperation agreements between the two countries. They included a government-level agreement on investment promotion and protection, a memorandum of understanding on cultural cooperation, a cooperation plan on agricultural development for 2010-2011, a cooperation plan on aquaculture for 2010-2013, and a cooperation agreement on combating crime.
In the afternoon, Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh received President Rajapaksa who expressed his admiration for the enormous achievements made by the Vietnamese people during the Renewal and international integration process. Mr Rajapaksa expressed his belief that the Vietnamese people will make greater achievements in national industrialisation and modernisation.
The president said that both Sri Lanka and Vietnam have great potential for cooperation and the agreements signed during the visit will pave the way for the two countries to bring their cooperative ties to a new plain.
Party leader Nong Duc Manh congratulated Sri Lanka on its recent historic victory, which has helped the country enter a period of peace, stability, national construction and development. He voiced Vietnam’s consistent policy of supporting the Sri Lankan government’s efforts to stabilise the nation, fight terrorism and restore security and social order.
He spoke highly of the results of talks between the two Presidents and proposed that the two countries increase cooperation in the areas of their strength and work closely in regional and international forums for peace, stability and development in Asia and the rest of the world.