At the invitation of Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Nepali Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli and his wife paid an official visit to Vietnam from May 9-13, 2016. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc hosted a ceremony to welcome Prime Minister Sharma Oli and the two Prime Ministers held talks on May 11, 2019 in Ha Noi.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc welcomes Prime Minister Sharma Oli. Photo: VNA

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc underlined that the first historic visit of a high-ranking Nepali leader, Prime Minister Sharma Oli, to Vietnam since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1975 was a vivid manifestation of the traditional friendship between the two countries. Prime Minister Sharma Oli expressed his pleasure to visit Vietnam, the first destination in Southeast Asia since he took office in February 2016 and congratulated Vietnam on the latter’s tremendous achievements in socio-economic development and foreign relations.

The two sides shared a common vision to deepen the traditional relations between Nepal and Vietnam in all fields. The two Prime Ministers expressed satisfaction at the results of the Nepali Prime Minister’s visit. The two sides signed many important documents, including the Agreement on Visa exemption for diplomatic passport and official passports between the Governments of the two countries, the MOU on establishment of bilateral consultation mechanism between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs and the Letter of Intent on negotiating and signing the framework Agreement on trade and investment cooperation between the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply of Nepal. The two Prime Ministers hold that these documents create the foundation for the two sides to continue to expand and deepen bilateral cooperation in the new period.

The two Prime Ministers agreed to enhance mutual visits and exchanges at the high and all levels, between their states, governments, political parties, legislative institutions, local bodies and people, and at the same time agreed to cooperate to organize meaningful and practical commemorative activities to be held in 2020 for the 45th anniversary of their diplomatic relations. The two sides also agreed to expand ties between the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Nepali Communist Party in the coming time.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc highly appreciated the results of the Vietnam - Nepal Business Forum held on May 10 with the direct participation of the Nepali Prime Minister. The two sides shared the assessment that their bilateral economic and trade cooperation remained far below their potentials and strengths, and tasked their relevant authorities to explore establishment of new and substantive bilateral economic, trade and investment cooperation mechanisms, encourage their businesses to survey each other’s market and participate in trade promotion activities.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc asked Nepal to support Vietnamese businesses to explore investment opportunities in all sectors, especially energy, infrastructure and telecommunications. Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli asked Vietnam to create favorable conditions for Nepal's goods to access the Vietnamese market. Both leaders agreed to look into proposals of market access for the agricultural products that they held competitive edge, especially rice, pepper, cashew, rubber and tropical fruits, at the same time encourage information exchange and cooperation in agricultural high technology, and promote exchange of agricultural experts.

The two sides agreed to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the fields of culture, tourism, people-to-people exchange, promoting tourism to Nepal's Lumbini and Everest Mountains as well as Vietnam’s scenic spots. The Vietnamese side agreed to promote establishment of the Vietnam-Nepal Friendship Association in Hanoi in the time to come. The two sides also agreed to promote cooperation in other potential areas such as science and technology, information and communication, air connectivity and in some other areas such as security, logistics and disaster preparedness.

A 16-point Joint Statement between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal was issued, sharing similar views on various regional and international issues of mutual interest. The two sides affirmed the importance of faithfully observing the Charter of the United Nations, principles of international law and norms. The two sides reiterated their resolve to preserve multilateralism and find common solutions to common problems. They further reiterated the need to work together for a just, equitable, inclusive, rules-based and democratic world order.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc expressed hope that the Nepali Government would continue to facilitate and assist Vietnamese citizens to live and work to contribute to Nepal's economy and act as a bridge for bilateral relations.

The two sides affirmed to continue coordinating and supporting each other in multilateral forums, including the United Nations. On this occasion, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc expressed his gratitude to Nepal for supporting Vietnam’s bid to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the term of 2020-2021.