Egypt and Vietnam discussed implementing directives from a presidential summit to boost economic ties, particularly in trade, manufacturing, and investment, during a meeting between Egyptian Planning Minister Rania Al-Mashat and Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son in Cairo on Wednesday. The meeting took place during an official visit by Vietnamese President Luong Cuong, who met with his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. The two presidents announced the elevation of bilateral relations to the level of a Strategic Partnership, Al-Mashat's ministry said in a statement. Al-Mashat and the Vietnamese deputy prime minister discussed preparations for the sixth session of the Joint Committee between the two countries. They also highlighted an agreement to form sub-committees in areas of mutual interest and to hold a business forum and workshops during the next Joint Committee meeting. "Egypt is Vietnam's largest trading partner and its most important export market in North Africa," Al-Mashat said, adding that each country serves as a strategic gateway for the other's exports—Egypt to the Middle East and Africa, and Vietnam to the Asian market. The minister also reviewed the measures taken by the Egyptian government to enhance the business and investment environment and implement economic and structural reforms to increase the competitiveness of the Egyptian market for Vietnamese companies. She reiterated Egypt's keenness to learn from Vietnam's development experience through the exchange of knowledge. For his part, the Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs lauded the development achievements made by Egypt and welcomed the elevation of bilateral relations. He also emphasised the necessity of creating an executive plan to finalise the agreements reached during the meeting between the two presidents. Egypt and Vietnam established full diplomatic relations in 1963. A joint ministerial committee was formed in 1997 and has held five sessions to date. In 2017, President Sisi made the first-ever visit by an Egyptian president to Vietnam, which was followed by a state visit to Egypt by the late Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang in 2018
