HANOI) -- Vietnam and the Philippines signed an agreement here Wednesday, the first day of a visit by President Gloria Arroyo, laying the foundations for long-term bilateral cooperation, officials said.

The agreement provides a framework for "Vietnam-Philippines relations for the first 25 years of the 21st century and beyond," the Foreign Ministry said following talks between Arroyo and her Vietnamese counterpart Tran Duc Luong.

The two countries are to sign an agreement on sports cooperation on Thursday, it added.

Arroyo, who arrived here on Wednesday from a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Phnom Penh, is also scheduled to hold talks with Communist Party Secretary General Nong Duc Manh, Prime Minister Phan Van Khai and the Speaker of the National Assembly, Nguyen Van An, AFP reported.

She is to visit the mausoleum of Communist Vietnam's Founder, Ho Chi Minh, on Thursday before leaving for the economic capital Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, where she is to meet with Philippine businessmen.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1976, the Philippines and Vietnam have signed economic cooperation agreements and begun activities in the transport, tourism and education sectors.

Bilateral trade totaled 424 million dollars last year and Vietnam has approved 21 Philippines investment projects worth more than 260 million dollars, according to Vietnamese statistics.

Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong visited the Philippines in 2001 and then-Philippines president Fidel Ramos also made a trip to Vietnam.