At the meeting with Mr Kim, the State leader said that Vietnam has always attached great importance to developing their time-honoured relationship and cooperation first nurtured by late President Ho Chi Minh and DPRK President Kim Il-sung.

Mr Triet expressed his delight at the positive developments, particularly in trade between the two countries and said he hoped that joint venture projects run by Vietnamese and DPRK businesses will help to deepen bilateral relations.

Mr Triet asked both countries to make a good job of organising the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties.

Regarding the situation on the Korean peninsular, the State leader said that Vietnam supports peace, stability and cooperation on the Korean peninsular as well as the denuclearisation process and efforts to resolve all differences through peaceful negotiations. Vietnam is keen that all parties concerned should exercise restraint and soon hold talks to work out effective solutions to settle differences.

As a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, Vietnam feels a sense of responsibility towards the International community and the common goal of a peaceful, stable, cooperative and nuclear free Korean peninsular.

Mr Kim stressed that the DPRK and Vietnam have maintained their long-established relationship, which has laid a firm foundation for both countries to continue to develop their bilateral relations.

Party Secretary Nong Duc Manh’s recent visit helped to lift bilateral ties to a higher plane, said Mr Kim. He added that the DPRK is determined to turn the Korean peninsular into a nuclear free zone.

At a meeting with Namibian Prime Minister Nahas Angula, Mr Triet emphasised that Vietnam has always attached great importance to strengthening its traditional friendship with all African nations including Namibia.

Vietnam acknowledged Namibia’s positive contributions to promoting the UN, the African Alliance, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Non-Aligned Movement.

Vietnam is ready to share its experience with Namibia in the fields of agriculture, seafood processing, healthcare and education. Apart from helping Namibia to implement a FAO-funded national food security programme, Vietnam is willing to send its experts and businesses to Namibia to help promote bilateral cooperation, said Mr Triet.

Mr Angula said that based on a firm political foundation, the two countries should increasingly boost economic cooperation and actively implement all previously reached agreements. Namibia wants Vietnam to dispatch more experts to advise on rice cultivation and aqua-culture as an initial step towards closer bilateral cooperation.

The Namibian leader also called on Vietnamese businesses to seek out investment opportunities and establish cooperative relations with Namibian partners.

In regard to international issues, Mr Angula said that nations in the southern hemisphere need to boost cooperation in trade and investment to cope with the impact of the global economic crisis.