(VOVWORLD) -As President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will begin a state-level visit to Vietnam on Thursday, a VOV reporter interviewed Brazilian Ambassador to Vietnam Marco Farani, who said there is huge potential for cooperation between the two countries within the framework of their Strategic Partnership.
 Brazilian Ambassador to Vietnam Marco Farani speaks about the significance of President Lula da Silva's visit and the relationship with Vietnam. Photo: Viet Duc/NEWS
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According to the Ambassador, the upcoming visit is a testament to the political will and importance of the bilateral relationship as well as reiterating that Vietnam is a reliable partner of Brazil.
"This visit is important because Vietnam has become an important country in itself. It received many foreign dignitaries from all over the world. Everyone recognized the geopolitical importance of Vietnam and its very skillful and capable foreign policy. So, the visit of President Lula da Silva fits in this large context. I think it’s important also for Vietnam to align itself with a country of the global South."
Asked about priorities of Brazil-Vietnam cooperation, Marco Farani said that as planned on Thursday, when President Lula da Silva meets Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, the two sides will sign the Action Plan for the Strategic Partnership. The Ambassador pointed out four major areas of technical cooperation, including agriculture, science and technology, defense, and energy transition.
“I think this is an important moment, because the Plan of Action specifies areas of cooperation, in which we can cooperate more intensely and closely. There are four technical areas in which we can cooperate, and they are agriculture, science-technology. Vietnam is very focused on science-technology, especially semiconductors, digitizations, etc. Brazil is very invested in digitization, has semiconductor industry produced in Brazil. So we can cooperate in these two areas. The other one is defense. The fourth one would be energy transition.”
This year, Brazil is taking on the role of Chair of the Group of Emerging Economies (BRICS) and hosting the BRICS Summit on July 6-7 in Rio de Janeiro. Vietnam's participation at the BRICS Summit is significant as it will get new perspectives on a rapidly changing global geopolitics, according to Brazilian Ambassador to Vietnam Marco Farani.