President Luong Cuong held talks with the Sultan of Brunei.

President Luong Cuong and the King of Brunei at the meeting (photo by Thuy Nguyen)

At the talks, President Luong Cuong warmly welcomed Sultan of Brunei Darussalam Haji Hassanal Bolkiah on his State visit to Vietnam, emphasizing that the visit is of great significance, creating new momentum, promoting the Vietnam-Brunei Comprehensive Partnership to become more substantive and effective, for the development and prosperity of the two nations. The President congratulated Brunei on its socio -economic development achievements, especially the effective implementation of the National Development Vision to 2035 (Wawasan 2035), continuing to enhance Brunei's position in the region and the world. The President affirmed that Vietnam attaches importance to and wishes to further promote cooperative relations with Brunei.

Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah expressed his pleasure in returning to visit Vietnam; sincerely thanked General Secretary To Lam , President Luong Cuong, senior leaders and people of Vietnam for the warm and respectful welcome given to the Sultan and the high-ranking delegation of Brunei; highly appreciated the achievements in national construction and development and the outstanding foreign affairs achievements that Vietnam has achieved in recent times.

Sharing about Brunei's development orientations in the coming time, focusing on developing the fields of AI, green economy, and circular economy, the King affirmed his appreciation and desire to develop the Comprehensive Partnership between the two countries in all fields, more effectively and substantially. On this occasion, the King sent his deep condolences and regards to the people of Vietnam, especially the central provinces, which have been severely affected by floods recently.

In a friendly and open atmosphere, President Luong Cuong and King Haji Hassanal Bolkiah exchanged and assessed bilateral cooperation and regional and international issues of mutual concern.

President Luong Cuong speaks at the talks (Photo: Thuy Nguyen)

The two leaders highly appreciated the good and solid development of bilateral relations in recent times, especially after upgrading to Comprehensive Partnership in 2019. Political and diplomatic relations have been increasingly consolidated through maintaining contacts and exchanges of delegations at high and all levels on all channels; bilateral cooperation mechanisms have been effectively implemented; the two sides actively coordinated to implement the Action Program for the period 2023-2027. Defense and security cooperation is a bright spot in the bilateral relationship. Economic cooperation has developed positively with two-way trade turnover reaching 500 million USD ahead of schedule in 2025. Cooperation in fields such as agriculture, energy, education and training and people-to-people exchange... has also been promoted.

Regarding the orientation for developing bilateral relations in the coming time, the two leaders agreed to enhance the effectiveness of the Comprehensive Partnership through increasing the exchange of visits and contacts at high and all levels, promoting relations through channels between the State, Government, National Assembly and people to enhance political trust and mutual understanding; continue to maintain and effectively implement the Joint Committee on Bilateral Cooperation mechanism; and coordinate to effectively implement the Action Program to implement the Vietnam-Brunei Darussalam Comprehensive Partnership for the 2023-2027 period.

President Luong Cuong and King Haji Hassanal Bolkiah affirmed that economic relations between the two countries still have much potential and room for growth; agreed to strive to double two-way trade turnover in the shortest time, through trade and investment promotion measures, strengthening business connections, exchanging information on policies and markets, promoting cooperation in new areas such as digital economy, green transformation, circular economy...

Vietnam encourages Bruneian investors to participate in projects such as the construction of an international financial center, infrastructure, energy, tourism and services in Vietnam. Brunei agreed to share experiences with Vietnam in the field of Halal, consider mutual recognition of Halal certificates, and develop Halal food and product production projects in Vietnam. The two sides also agreed that Brunei will continue to facilitate Vietnamese companies in providing oil and gas services and participating in oil and gas exploration and exploitation activities in Bruneian waters; and encourage Bruneian corporations to invest in oil and gas exploration and exploitation in Vietnam.

The Sultan of Brunei speaks at the meeting (photo by Thuy Nguyen)

The two leaders affirmed the importance of defense and security cooperation in the context of the challenging regional situation, agreed to share experiences and expand cooperation in preventing and combating organized crimes such as drug trafficking, human trafficking, illegal migration, terrorism, cybercrime and money laundering. The Sultan of Brunei congratulated Vietnam on successfully organizing the signing ceremony of the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime in Hanoi and agreed to soon ratify the Convention, contributing to bringing the Convention into effect.

The two sides also agreed that maritime cooperation is an important area that needs to be promoted in the coming time, welcomed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Fisheries Sector and the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Use of Hotlines to Exchange Information on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing; agreed to effectively implement agreements, dialogues and share experiences and information, as well as address security challenges at sea to ensure security and safety at sea.

The two leaders also agreed to expand cooperation in other important areas such as education, culture, tourism and people-to-people exchange to contribute to strengthening ties and mutual understanding, contributing to comprehensively promoting bilateral relations.

Overview of the meeting (photo by Thuy Nguyen)

Discussing international and regional issues, the two sides highly appreciated the two countries' active coordination and mutual support at multilateral mechanisms, especially at the United Nations and ASEAN; agreed to strengthen solidarity and unity within ASEAN, and together with ASEAN countries, contribute to maintaining peace, stability and development in the region. Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah affirmed his support for Vietnam in its role as rotating Chair of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in 2026 and successfully hosting APEC Year 2027.

Regarding the East Sea issue, the two sides pledged to maintain and promote peace, security, stability, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation; called on parties to exercise restraint, not threaten or use force, fully respect diplomatic and legal processes, and resolve disputes by peaceful means, on the basis of fundamental principles of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The talks took place in an atmosphere of friendship and mutual understanding. On this occasion, Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah respectfully invited President Luong Cuong to pay a State visit to Brunei at a convenient time. President Luong Cuong respectfully thanked and invited the King to attend APEC 2027 in Vietnam.

On this occasion, the two sides signed three cooperation documents between the two countries in the fields of maritime cooperation, fisheries and cooperation in preventing IUU fishing.

Xuan Ky

Source: https://nhandan.vn/chu-tich-nuoc-luong-cuong-da-hoi-dam-voi-quoc-vuong-brunei-post927175.html