During the visit and work program in Nghe An province, on the morning of March 28, Ms. Michelle Bachelet Jeria - Former President of Chile had a meeting with leaders of Nghe An province. The delegation included Mr. Sergio Narea - Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Chile to Vietnam; Mr. Pham Truong Giang - Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to Chile; and Mr. Mauro Elias Tamayo – and District Governor of Cerro Navia.

On the side of Nghe An province, Mr. Thai Thanh Quy - Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the Provincial Delegation to the National Assembly; Mr. Nguyen Duc Trung - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee (PPC); Mr. Bui Dinh Long - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the PPC and leaders of a number of departments, and branches attended the meeting.

Overview of the meeting

The Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet thanked the warm welcome of the leaders of Nghe An province for her and the delegation. She shared that this is the fourth time coming to Vietnam and the first time coming to Nghe An province. Expressing special feelings and impressions for the country and people of Vietnam in general and Nghe An province in particular, the Former Chilean President said that in the near future, the project “Memories of Vietnam – Chile” will be deployed. At once, by the visit to Nghe An province, Chile will continue to tighten the cooperation and join hands to realize the common goals of the international community for peace and development. Ms. Michelle Bachelet Jeria also affirmed that, in any position, she will continue to boost the relationship between Vietnam - Chile in general and Nghe An - Chile in particular, as well as the close relationship of people between the two countries.

Provincial Party Secretary Thai Thanh Quy exchanges information with Ms. Michelle Bachelet Jeria - former Chilean President

On behalf of the provincial leaders, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Thai Thanh Quy was pleased to welcome Ms. Michelle Bachelet Jeria and the delegation to visit Nghe An. He affirmed that the historic meeting between President Ho Chi Minh and President of the Chilean Senate Salvador Allende (later President of Chile) laid the foundation for the closed relationship and cooperation between Vietnam and Chile. Chile was the first Latin American country to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam on March 25, 1971. Although the two countries are geographically distant (17,000 km), over the past 50 years the relationship of solidarity and friendship between the two peoples and countries has been constantly maintained, cultivated and always in the heart of every citizen.

The Secretary stressed that the visit and work of the delegation in Vietnam and Nghe An province is a vivid evidence of the continuation of the good Vietnam-Chile friendship over the past 50 years, and an opportunity to promote the development of comprehensive cooperative between Nghe An and Chile. Especially since 2007, the two countries established a comprehensive partnership.

The Secretary of the PPC expressed his honor to join the delegation of Party and State leaders to visit Chile in October 2022, to pay tribute and lay a wreath in front of the statue of President Ho Chi Minh in Cerro Navia district. During his working time in Chile, he felt the warm affections from Chilean friends; impression of a beautiful Chile, friendly and peaceful people; feel the affection of the Chilean people for Nghe An province and for President Ho Chi Minh.

The Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee also briefly introduced Nghe An province to the delegation. Nghe An is located in the center of the North Central region of Vietnam, with the largest natural land area in the country, rich and diverse terrain, with sea, plains, midlands and mountains, so Nghe An is considered as like a miniature Vietnam. The population is more than 3.4 million people. It is the fourth most populous province in the country.

Nghe An is a place with a culture imbued with national identity, the homeland of many famous heroes and celebrities. Among the six Vietnamese celebrities honored by UNESCO, Nghe An is honored to have President Ho Chi Minh and Poet Ho Xuan Huong.

Nghe An has a synchronous infrastructure for economic and social development. There are all types of road, railway, seaway, and air route, to conveniently connect the economic, political and cultural centers of the country. Industrial zones and economic zones are invested in synchronously with many of the highest preferential policies prescribed by the Government of Vietnam. The system of training, medical, financial, trading and procurement services is diversified and ready to meet the needs of the people and partners. Economic scale of Nghe An ranks 10th in the country. FDI attraction ranks in the top 10 nationwide.

Recently, collaboration between Nghe An and Chile provinces has mainly stopped at export trade activities. In 2022, the export turnover of Nghe An to Chile reached 1.24 million USD. The main export items are: Shoes, sandals, white limestone powder, handicrafts, rice, etc. Currently, there is no import turnover to Chile. In Nghe An province, There is no FDI project from Chile implemented. It can be said that the cooperation situation between Nghe An province and Chile is still very modest, not commensurate with the potential of the two sides.

The Secretary of the PPC really hopes that in the near future, the Former President of Chile and members of the delegation will create a bridge to promote, strengthen the cooperation between Nghe An and Chile more effectively.

The Secretary of the PPC also informed the Former President of Chile and members of the Delegation that in the 2023 foreign policy plan, Nghe An province is expected to organize a working delegation to visit and work in Chile. Therefore, The province looks forward to receiving the attention and support of the Former President of Chile, Embassy of Chile in Vietnam, Embassy of Vietnam in Chile, Cerro Navia District to make the visit of Nghe An delegation to Chile a great success, opening up opportunities for cooperation between the two sides.

In particular, in the near future, the project “Memories of Vietnam – Chile” will be implemented. Through information provided by the Embassy of Vietnam in Chile, the Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee showed his appreciation for the good feelings that Chile and the Cerro Navia District have for Vietnam in general and the beloved President Ho Chi Minh in particular. This is a very meaningful project. Therefore, Nghe An province strongly supports and agrees with the project implementation policy.

Kim Oanh