‘B2B and people-to-people ties are essential for strong bilateral relations’

Islamabad: The NUST Institute of Policy Studies (NIPS) organized a keynote address by Vietnam’s Ambassador to Pakistan, Nguyen Tien Phong, on ‘A Comprehensive Pakistan-Vietnam Cooperation: Prospects and Opportunities.’

Lt Gen (r) Engr Javed Mahmood Bukhari, Rector NUST, greeted the guest upon arrival. The keynote, moderated by Dr. Ashfaque Hasan Khan, Director General of NIPS, highlighted the areas of cooperation between Pakistan and Vietnam.

The Ambassador emphasized the importance of a people-oriented approach to bilateral relations as a basis for strengthening bilateral trade, S&T partnerships, academic and student exchanges, cultural understanding and tourism promotion.

He called business-to-business (B2B) and people-to-people ties the key to strong bilateral ties between the two countries.

He underlined the need for a strong mechanism for the implementation of plans, projects and proposals related to cooperation, which, he said, required strong responsibility from the government and the people on both sides. He further said that Vietnam’s growth strategy aims to integrate Vietnam’s companies and enterprises into regional and global value chains and production networks.

He said Pakistan’s dynamic youth population, sectoral specialization, industrial clusters and price and location advantages could catapult the country to the forefront of emerging economies. The Ambassador praised NUST for being Pakistan’s leading knowledge centre.