(VOVworld) – Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong and his entourage returned to Hanoi on Friday, ending an official visit to Belarus at the invitation of Belarusian President Lukashenko. In his message to President Lukashenko after the visit, Mr. Trong said he hoped his visit would contribute to further boost bilateral traditional friendship and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Belarus for the interests of the two peoples, as well as for regional and world peace and prosperity.

Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong met leaders of Vietnam- Belarus'  Friendship Association

On Thursday, Mr. Trong laid a wreath at the Monument to Victory in Minsk city and met with representatives of the Vietnamese community in the country.

In a related development, Chairman of the Party Central Committee's Commission for External Relations Hoang Binh Quan, hailed Mr. Trong’s visit to Russia and Belarus as a milestone in elevating Vietnam’s relations with these two countries to a higher level and to consolidate Vietnam-Russia’s comprehensive strategic partnership. He told a press briefing in Hanoi on Friday that Russia and Belarus attach great importance to developing ties with Vietnam. Both countries acknowledged Vietnam’s important role in their external policies in Southeast Asia in particular, and in Asia in general. Vietnam, Belarus, and Russia have agreed to finalize negotiations on a free trade agreement between Vietnam and the Customs Union in 2015. Each country shared their common stance on several issues including measures to maintain international peace and security, world order, the UN role, international law, and regional connectivity. Leaders from the three countries stressed the necessity to settle disputes in Asia-Pacific and the East Sea by peaceful measures in accordance with international law, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and supported a full implementation of the Declaration of Concerned Parties in the East Sea, as well as a goal of soon reaching a Code of Conduct in the East Sea.