THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM
Government News
Belarus opens Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City
VGP - The Consulate General of Belarus was officially opened at No.2/6 on Street 31 in Binh An Ward of Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City on December 7. The Consulate General of Belarus in Ho Chi Minh City was inaugurated at No 2/6, Road 31, Binh An Ward, Thu Duc City, on Thursday.
Belarusian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Evgeny Shestakov (3rd from left) and Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Municipal People's Committee Nguyen Van Dung (4th from left) cut the ribbon to inaugurate the Consulate General of Belarus in Ho Chi Minh City, December 7, 2023.
The Consulate General is located at No 2/6, Road 31, Binh An Ward, Thu Duc City of Ho Chi Minh City.
Addressing the inaugural ceremony, Belarusian Deputy Foreign Minister Evgeny Shestakov recalled that after gaining independence, Belarus opened its first representative agency in Viet Nam in the form of a trade mission in Ho Chi Minh City in 1997, before opening the embassy in Ha Noi.
The reopening of the Belarusian Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City reflects the traditional friendship between the people of Belarus and Viet Nam, and the potential for cooperation between the two countries, especially in the fields of trade and economics, the deputy minister said.
Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Nguyen Van Dung welcomed the Belarusian Government's decision to expand of diplomatic representation in Viet Nam through opening the Consulate General in the city, which indicates the fact that the Belarusian Government attaches importance to the role of Ho Chi Minh City in promoting multifaceted relations between the two countries.
The inauguration of the Consulate General takes place on the occasion of Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko's ongoing four-day official visit to Viet Nam at the invitation of Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
The Viet Nam – Belarus relations have deep roots dating back to the Soviet era when President Ho Chi Minh visited Belarus in 1957 and 1961, marking significant milestones in the development of both nations' relations.
More than three decades since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1992, Viet Nam and Belarus have made efforts to strengthen traditional friendship and all-around cooperation with an increasingly high level of trust.
Around ten Vietnamese provinces have set up friendly and cooperative relations with six out of seven provincial-level localities of Belarus.
Bilateral trade totaled US$114 million last year and US$46 million in the first nine months of this year. Viet Nam is the only country in Southeast Asia that has signed a Free Trade Agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) consisting of five members: Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan./.