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The
bravery
and bold
steps
taken by
President
Mahinda
Rajapaksa
and the
Sri
Lankan
Security
Forces
to
defeat
LTTE
terrorism
is
highly
appreciated,
said
Vietnamese
President
Nguyen
Minh
Triet
during
his
meeting
with
President
Mahinda
Rajapaksa,
held at
the
Vietnamese
President
House
yesterday
(Oct.
22).
He
commended
the well
orchestrated
democratic
humanitarian
mission
to
rescue
the
innocent
civilians
held
hostage
by the
LTTE.
The
Vietnamese
President
noted
that
Vietnam
appreciated
the
solidarity
that Sri
Lanka
demonstrated
during
Vietnam’s
struggle
against
imperialism.
President
Mahinda
Rajapaksa
said
that
Vietnam
firmly
backed
Sri
Lanka at
the UN
Human
Rights
Council
in
Geneva
when
attempts
were
made by
certain
parties
to
discredit
the true
image of
Sri
Lanka
and also
gave the
steadfast
and
moral
support
during
Sri
Lanka’s
battle
against
terrorism,
especially
in the
multilateral
fora.
"As
the
first
Head of
the
Government
in Sri
Lanka to
visit
Vietnam,
I am
happy to
be here,
said
President
Rajapaksa
and
recalled
that Sri
Lanka
and
Vietnam
had its
roots in
cultural,
religious
and
historical
links
dating
back to
many
centuries.
It is
a great
pride
that Sri
Lanka
was one
of the
very
first
nations
to
recognize
the
Provisional
Revolutionary
Government
of the
Republic
of South
Vietnam",
said
President
Rajapaksa.
He
further
recalled
that Sri
Lanka
was one
of the
first
countries
to
establish
diplomatic
relations
with the
Socialist
Republic
of
Vietnam
in the
1970s
and with
the
emergence
of a new
Sri
Lanka
combined
by the
dawn of
peace,
bilateral
trade
between
the two
countries
could be
further
enhanced.
President
pointed
out
opportunities
in Sri
Lanka,
for
trade
and
investment
and
added
that the
Government
has
already
earmarked
new Free
Trade
Zones in
the
former
conflict
zones of
Kilinochchi
and
Trincomalee.
He
suggested
that the
agricultural
and
fisheries
sectors
be given
more
focus in
the
bilateral
trade
relations
to
further
increase
the
trade
turnover.
Having
signed
several
important
agreements
between
the two
governments,
the
Vietnamese
President
referring
to the
Cooperation
Agreement
on
Prevention
and
Combating
Crime,
hailed
it as a
vital
instrument
strengthening
regional
security
and
internal
security
of the
two
countries.
He
pledged
to
further
stabilize
mutual
understanding,
confidence
and
trust
between
the two
nations
and
progress
towards
attaining
all
goals
envisaged
in the
agreements
entered
into
yesterday
for
better
prospects
for the
future.
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