The pacts between the two countries include an inter-governmental agreement on promotion and protection of investment, a memorandum of understanding on culture, a 2010-2011 cooperation plan on agricultural development, a plan on fisheries cooperation in 2010-2013 and an agreement on cooperation in crime prevention.

State President Nguyen Minh Triet and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa witnessed the signing ceremonies of these agreements, the Vietnam News Agency reports.

During their talks after the welcome ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, the two leaders underscored the need to step up multi-faceted bilateral cooperative relations.

President Triet said Vietnam wanted to consolidate and expand its traditional close relations with Sri Lanka and described President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s visit as a significant event that will help bring bilateral ties to a higher plane. He congratulated Sri Lanka on its successful battle against terrorism and said the country could reap greater successes in the national reconstruction process.

The Sri Lankan President thanked the Vietnamese people for their support for his country’s fight against terrorism and said he wanted to see Sri Lanka’s ties with Vietnam thriving in the future.

The two leaders agreed to spur trade and investment cooperation to bring two-way trade to US$100 million by 2012, and cooperation in other fields such as agriculture, fisheries, culture, oil and gas, mechanical engineering, aviation, sea transport, construction, education and health.

The Sri Lankan President also had separate meetings with Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on the same day.