Hanoi - In a bid to boost trade with the emerging communist country, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the first Brazilian president to visit Vietnam, arrived in Hanoi Thursday.

"This visit will help lift the relations between the two countries to a new height," Vietnam's President Nguyen Minh Triet said, as he welcomed Lula in the Vietnamese capital.

"The two countries are geographically far, but share a very close brotherhood," he added.

Lula, who travelled to Vietnam from the Group of Eight summit in Japan, said that one of the reasons for his visit was to increase trade.

While the two countries have signed agreements on previous diplomatic visits, trade remained relatively modest. In 2007, total bilateral trade was 323 million dollars, up from 113.8 million dollars in 2005.

"The trade volume is still far from matching the potentials. We share a lot of chance to boost trade," Lula said.

He also praised the Vietnamese people's history of fighting for their sovereignty and working to boost their economic standing.

"Vietnam has an admirable history," Lula said. "The people of Vietnam know how to protect its freedom and sovereignty. Vietnam is emerging in the region and in the international arena."

The two leaders signed memorandums of understanding on fighting against hunger and poverty, cooperation in sports, and establishing a joint committee, as well as a framework agreement on science and technology cooperation.

The history of the two countries' relations spans nearly two decades, after officially establishing relations 1989. Brazil supported Vietnam's bid to join the World Trade Organization and to gain a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. Vietnam took over the rotating presidency of the council last month.

Vietnam is currently supporting Brazil's bid for a seat on the standing committee of the UN Security Council.

On his one-day visit, Lula was scheduled to attend a conference on building new partnerships between the two countries, meet with the chairman of Vietnam's National Assembly Nguyen Phu Trong, and hold talks with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. (dpa)