The first consignment of rice from Vietnam is scheduled to arrive in Chittagong within 15 days, Vietnamese Ambassador in Dhaka Tran Van Khoa said yesterday.

The newly appointed envoy said this in a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her parliament office.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, PM's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim said the envoy expressed satisfaction over the extension of an MoU on rice trade with Bangladesh.

The PM said the government wanted to keep extra grains in stock to cope with any eventuality.

She said Vietnam achieved remarkable successes in socioeconomic development after the war. “Vietnam is an example to us and we follow it. We had to fight for independence like Vietnam.”

She stressed the need for strengthening connectivity and economic cooperation between Bangladesh and Southeast Asian nations.

Bangladesh and Vietnam could share their experiences in different fields like trade and culture, she added.

Describing poverty as the common problem for the developing countries, the PM called for working together to eliminate poverty.

Ambassador Van Khoa conveyed the best wishes of Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to Hasina.

He also handed over a book to Hasina on the life of Vietnamese Communist revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh.

The ambassador highly praised the PM's able leadership and appreciated the achievement of 7.24 percent GDP growth by Bangladesh in the current fiscal year.

He lauded Bangladesh's efforts in combating terrorism and fighting the climate change impacts.

PM's Principal Secretary Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury and Senior PMO Secretary Suraiya Begum were present.