In his address at the airport, Yunnan Vice Governor Liu Ping welcomed Mr Triet’s first stopover in Yuunan during his visit to China and expressed his belief that the visit will be successful. He spoke highly of the fine development of Vietnam-China relations as well as Vietnam’s rapid economic development and other important achievements obtained by its people during the current Doi Moi (Renewal) process.

“Yunnan attaches great importance to developing economic and trade cooperation with Vietnamese localities which have flourished in recent years,” said Mr Liu. “I believe that Mr Triet’s visit will help bring bilateral cooperation to a new height.”

Shortly after the welcoming ceremony, Mr Triet called on the Yunnan Power Grid Corporation (YNPG) under the China Southern Grid Co. Ltd. (CSG), which has signed contracts with the Electricity of Vietnam Group (EVN) to sell electricity to six northern Vietnamese provinces. Since September 2004, YNPG has sold nearly 2 billion kWh to EVN.

Mr Triet highly valued the effective cooperation between YNPG and EVN, which he said helps foster the friendship and cooperative relations between Vietnam and China. He expressed his hope that YNPG will pour more investment into building power plants in Vietnam and help EVN train staff and increase the capacity for power grid management and operation.