Diplomatic ties set up with El Salvador

TOKYO — Viet Nam and El Salvador issued a joint statement concerning the establishment of diplomatic ties at the ambassador level between the two countries on Saturday.

The document was signed by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem and El Salvador ’s Foreign Minister Hugo Martinez Bonilla during their meeting on the sidelines of the fourth Forum for East Asia-Latin America Co-operation (FEALAC) Foreign Ministers Meeting in Tokyo.

Khiem stressed the significance of the event which, he said, would help boost bilateral co-operation between the two countries in several fields.

He requested that El Salvador recognise Viet Nam as a market economy.

In the Latin American region, Chile, Venezuela and Nicaragua had done so, while Brazil, Uruguay and Colombia have pledged to consider the request, Khiem added.

According to Bonilla, the establishment of Viet Nam-El Salvador diplomatic ties will facilitate the development of bilateral relations and all-round co-operation.

He also expressed hope that bilateral co-operation deals would be signed in the future during Vietnamese leaders’ visits to El Salvador. — VNS