The Vietnamese hailed the visit of Dr. Harsha de Silva, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, especially noting that it is the first high level bilateral visit to Vietnam since President Maithripala Sirisena assumed office on January 08, 2015, the Ministry said in a statement today.

 
The visit preceded an important period during which Vietnam signed the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement and Free Trade Agreement with the EU, clearly giving a high leverage for the country over most other developing countries, opening doors to fast track its economy.

 
The Ministry in the statement added, “During the visit, the Deputy Minister Dr. Harsha de Silva called on his counterpart, Mr. Le HoaiTrung, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Mr. Do Thang Hai, Vice Minister of Industry and Trade. 

Meanwhile, Mr. Dang Xuan Quang, Deputy Director General of Foreign Investment Agency, counterpart of the Sri Lanka Board of Investment, called on the Deputy Minister. The Deputy Minister also participated in an event organized by the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Hanoi, to launch the Sri Lanka Business Council in Viet Nam where he addressed top investors, business leaders and professionals. The Deputy Minister also attended the opening ceremony of the Linea Aqua Viet Nam and interacted with the Sri Lankan community in Viet Nam.  

 
The main focus of the discussion between Vice Minister Le HoaiTrungand the Deputy Minister was Viet Nam’s strategy on economic development, sectors for bilateral cooperation, with special emphasis on attracting investment to Sri Lanka.
 

During the bilateral meeting with the Minister of Industry and Trade, Mr. Do Thang Hai, the focus was on improving bilateral trade in line with the agreement reached at the Sub Committee on Trade held in Colombo in March 2015, that highlighted the strategic location of Sri Lanka, as an important logistical hubfor air connectivity and the promotion of tourism, trade and investment.”