President busy with meetings in Australia

President Nguyen Minh Triet met with the Presidents of Chile and the Republic of Korea and took part in a host of activities on September 7 within his schedule to attend the 15th APEC Economic Leaders Meeting in Sydney , Australia .

President Nguyen Minh Triet met with the Presidents of Chile and the Republic of Korea and took part in a host of activities on September 7 within his schedule to attend the 15th APEC Economic Leaders Meeting in Sydney , Australia .

Meeting with the Chilean leader, President Triet reconfirmed Viet Nam s support for Chile s bid to run for a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council for the 2014-2015 term after expressing thanks to the South American countrys backing to Viet Nam s candidacy for a non-permanent seat at the 2008-09 UN Security Council and its international integration.

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet Jeria announced that Chile officially recognises Viet Nam as a full market economy. The two Presidents agreed to initiate the negotiating process for the two countries free trade agreement.

At the meeting with the President of the Republic of Korea , Roh Moo-Hyun, President Triet said that he was pleased with the development of the two countries relationship over the past 15 years as it will push the bilateral ties to steadily enter a new phase of development.

The Vietnamese President also told his RoK counterpart that he expects to see more investments from the RoK due to the RoK governments support policies.

Earlier, at the Viet Nam-Australia Business Forum that brought together a total of 100 businesses of the two countries, President Triet noted that the relationship between Viet Nam and Australia has been blossoming in the fields of politics, trade, investment, culture and education.

He called on Australian businesspeople, including overseas Vietnamese in the country, to invest in the homeland and work for closer ties between the two nations. "The Vietnamese community constitutes a bridge linking the two nations," he said.

President Triet witnessed the signing of a series of contracts between Vietnamese businesses and their partners from the host country.

The Transport Work Construction Corporation No. 5 (Cienco 5) and the Country State reached a principle contract worth 200 million USD for the construction of trade-office buildings, industrial zones and living quarters in Ho Chi Minh City, the Mekong delta province of Long An and the northern province of Ha Tay.

The Viet Nam Construction and Import-Export Joint Stock Corporation (Vinaconex) signed with the WK Marble & Granite Pty Ltd a 60 million USD contract on the exports of tiles to Australia .

The Leighton Construction Group and the Macquarie Bank signed with the Saigon Service Company (Savico) a memorandum of understanding indicating their intention to look for investment opportunities in Viet Nam .

The Saigon Tourist Company (Saigontourist) agreed with the Worldwide Store Operation & Business Development on a deal involving free-tax services.

On the same day, President Triet participated in a working session between leaders of ASEAN member countries, which are also members of APEC, with US President George W. Bush.

The working session centered around the issues relating to expanding trade, and cooperation against terror, bird flu and climate change.

President Triet also received Wayne Osborn, Director General of Alcoa World Alumina Australia Group, which plans to partner in a joint venture to explore and process bauxite in the Central Highlands province of Dac Nong. The project is estimated to cost up to 1.5 billion USD in investment capital.

The State leader also granted interviews to Australia s ABC and CNBC channels at Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel the same day.

(Source: VNA)