Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez Monday initialed two cooperation agreements with Vietnamese authorities for cultural exchange and oil technology during the first day of his two-day visit to Vietnam.

"Today (Monday) we have signed these documents to help each other, so that Vietnam is independent to drill and refine oil," Chávez said in Hanoi, following initialization of the instruments, Efe reported.

In 2005, Vietnam exported 18 million tons of crude oil, while Venezuela is one of the world's five largest oil exporters.

Previously, Chávez met with Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet and visited the Hanoi Military Museum.