Acting Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung and Tuvalu's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Trade, Tourism, Environment and Labour Paulson Panapa signed a joint communique establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries at Vietnam's permanent mission to the United Nations (UN) in New York on 24/9.

With this signing, Vietnam joins a select group of countries with diplomatic relations with all 193 UN member states.

Acting Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung (right) and Tuvalu's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Trade, Tourism, Environment and Labour Paulson Panapa exchange the joint communique establishing diplomatic relations on 24/9. Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Acting Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung (right) and Tuvalu's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Trade, Tourism, Environment and Labour Paulson Panapa exchange the joint communique establishing diplomatic relations on 24/9. Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Trung and Panapa discussed future cooperation, affirming the signing as a historic milestone laying the foundation for bilateral relations.

The two sides agreed to further discussions to promote cooperation in areas such as maritime economy, tourism, and education, and pledged close coordination at multilateral forums.

Tuvalu is a small island nation in the South Pacific with a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy. The British monarch is head of state, represented by a governor-general, while the prime minister leads the government.

Tuvalu has a small economy primarily based on fishing and subsistence farming. Before establishing relations with Vietnam, Tuvalu had diplomatic ties with 123 countries, including 6 ASEAN members.

Ngoc Anh