Mr. Parnpree Badiddha-Nukara chose Vietnam as the first ASEAN country to pay an official visit since assuming the position of Foreign Minister in early September. Mr. Gabrielius Landsbergis is the first Lithuanian Foreign Minister to visit Vietnam since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1992.
Besides the "first" factor showing that these countries value cooperative relations with Vietnam, there is also an interesting coincidence regarding the timing: both gentlemen visited Vietnam from October 25-26 and both delivered important speeches at the OECD-Southeast Asia Ministerial Forum 2023 on the theme "Sustainable and Quality Investment: New Drivers for OECD-Southeast Asia Partnerships".
This also means that the host country's Foreign Minister, Bui Thanh Son, has two busy days welcoming two guests from two different continents at the same time.
A close friend, a top priority partner.
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| Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh receives Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara. (Source: VNA) |
Mr. Parnpree Badiddha-Nukara's visit to Vietnam took place shortly after he was approved by the King of Thailand to the position of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs.
In an interview with TG&VN, Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Phan Chi Thanh emphasized the "extremely important and special significance" of this visit, as it marks the first visit of a high-ranking representative from the new Thai government to Vietnam during the 10th anniversary of the two countries' Strategic Partnership (2013-2023).
The visit further affirms the commitment and determination of both sides in implementing the Action Program for the Enhanced Strategic Partnership between Vietnam and Thailand for the period 2022-2027 and in fostering closer cooperation between the two countries in regional and international forums.
During the meetings and talks with the guest from the Land of Smiles, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Head of the Central Committee's Foreign Affairs Department Le Hoai Trung, and Minister Bui Thanh Son all welcomed Mr. Parnpree's choice of Vietnam as his first country to visit in his new capacity and assessed that this visit would contribute to deepening the Vietnam-Thailand Strategic Partnership.
Regarding bilateral cooperation, both sides expressed pleasure at witnessing the increasingly deep and substantive development of cooperation in various fields between the two countries, based on mutual respect, trust, and mutual benefit; on that basis, they agreed to move towards elevating bilateral relations to a new level.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh proposed that the two countries continue to promote and elevate their relationship to a new level; strengthen exchanges of high-level delegations and delegations at all levels through Party, State, Government, and Parliament channels; and effectively implement bilateral cooperation mechanisms, especially the joint Cabinet meeting mechanism chaired by the two Prime Ministers.
Appreciating that Thailand continues to be Vietnam's largest trading partner in ASEAN and the ninth largest foreign investor in Vietnam, the Prime Minister suggested that the two sides coordinate and strive to achieve the target of $25 billion in bilateral trade turnover in a more balanced manner.
Referring to Thailand's facilitation of the establishment of a Vietnam Street and a Vietnam Research Center in Udon Thani province, Minister Bui Thanh Son suggested that both sides continue to cooperate in preserving and promoting the value of the Ho Chi Minh Memorial Sites and Vietnamese temples in Thailand; support Thai and Vietnamese language teaching programs in each country; and encourage the development of cooperative and sister-city relationships between localities of the two countries, creating a solid foundation to promote people-to-people exchanges and business connections.
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| Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son welcomed and held talks with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Thailand Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara. (Photo: Tuan Anh) |
Expressing his pleasure at making his first official visit to Vietnam, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Parnpree Badiddha-Nukara affirmed that Vietnam is a close friend and one of Thailand's leading important partners in the region. Highly appreciating Vietnam's socio-economic development achievements, the head of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the two economies have much potential and room for further cooperation.
Expressing his desire to effectively implement the "Three Connections" strategy between the two countries, Mr. Parnpree Badiddha-Nukara agreed to strengthen high-level delegation exchanges and implement important bilateral cooperation mechanisms, promoting cooperation in political, economic, tourism, air and road connectivity, cultural and people-to-people exchanges, etc.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Parnpree Badiddha-Nukara stated that Thai businesses have confidence in the potential and investment environment and wish to expand their investments in Vietnam. He requested that the Vietnamese government continue to support Thai investors in implementing projects in several Vietnamese localities, including energy projects. The Thai government will facilitate foreign businesses, including Vietnamese businesses, in expanding their investments in Thailand.
Regarding regional and international cooperation, both sides affirmed close coordination within multilateral and regional mechanisms; coordination with other ASEAN countries to strengthen ASEAN's solidarity, unity, and central role; enhanced cooperation in the development of the Mekong sub-region, and the sustainable management and use of Mekong River water resources; and affirmed the importance of maintaining peace, stability, safety, and maritime and air security in the South China Sea on the basis of international law, including UNCLOS 1982.
A significant milestone that creates new momentum.
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| Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh receives Foreign Minister of the Republic of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis. (Source: VNA) |
Clearly, the presence of Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis in Hanoi is a significant milestone in Vietnam-Lithuania relations, as affirmed by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh during their meeting on the afternoon of October 25th. At the same day's talks, Minister Bui Thanh Son assessed that the visit would certainly create new momentum to further strengthen relations between Vietnam and its traditional partner in Central and Eastern Europe.
Coming from a country with a long history in Europe (Lithuania officially appeared in history in 1009), the Minister expressed his admiration and appreciation for Vietnam's socio-economic development achievements and its increasingly important role and position in the region and the world. Lithuania always values and wishes to strengthen relations with Vietnam, a priority partner in Southeast Asia.
For many Vietnamese people, Lithuania is not a familiar name as a popular tourist or study destination. This small country (with an area of only 65,301 km2 and a population of approximately 3.3 million) has nonetheless commanded admiration for its many successes in integration, economic transformation, public services, technology application, and research and development of renewable energy.
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| Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son held talks with Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis on October 25 in Hanoi. (Photo: Tuan Anh) |
As revealed by the Vietnamese Ambassador to Poland and Lithuania, Nguyen Hung, the land dubbed the "startup nation" in Europe ranks seventh in e-government standards on the "old continent," and technology companies generate approximately 99% of their revenue from overseas, making the most significant contribution to GDP.
Surprisingly, Lithuania is building a leading European technology campus in its capital, Vilnius, aiming to become the new technology capital of the Baltic region. This €100 million project spans 55,000 square meters and will employ 5,000 people. Currently, Lithuania offers over 600 programs taught in English according to European standards, boasts long-established higher education institutions, and offers continuously updated programs at affordable prices.
Therefore, it is easy to understand why cooperation in high technology, information technology, digital transformation, education and training, along with agriculture, culture and tourism, etc., was emphasized in the meetings. The head of the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs assessed Vietnam as one of the potential markets in Southeast Asia; and requested that more favorable conditions be created for Lithuanian agricultural products such as beef, poultry, eggs, fertilizers, etc., to enter the Vietnamese market.
To create a catalyst for deeper cooperation, the two Ministers agreed on the need to promote early exchanges of delegations at all levels, especially at the high level, to continue maintaining the political consultation mechanism between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs, and to coordinate the effective implementation of the Cooperation Agreement between the two Ministries signed during this visit.
On the multilateral level, both sides agreed to coordinate closely and support each other in multilateral forums, including the United Nations, ASEM, and ASEAN-EU...
With a GDP of US$75.88 billion (2022), Lithuania – a member of the Eurozone – is the largest economy among the Baltic states. Notably, this small and beautiful country actively supported Vietnam in the negotiation and signing of the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and was one of the first EU member states to ratify the Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).
During the meetings, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Minister Bui Thanh Son both expressed Lithuania's support and requested that the remaining EU member states be urged to quickly ratify the EVIPA. They also acknowledged Vietnam's efforts in fully and seriously implementing the European Commission's (EC) recommendations on sustainable fisheries development and urged the EC to lift the "yellow card" (IUU) imposed on Vietnamese seafood products.
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Mr. Parnpree Badiddha-Nukara's "greeting" visit to neighboring ASEAN countries took place just under two months after his appointment to his new position (September 2023). Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis's visit to Vietnam occurred not long after Lithuania unveiled its Indo-Pacific Strategy (July 2023).
In this context, the two official visits taking place at the same time demonstrate the importance that this Southeast Asian neighbor, as well as the Baltic nation, places on and the desire to further promote cooperative relations with Vietnam.
By welcoming these two distinguished guests, Vietnam continues to consolidate and strengthen multifaceted cooperation with other countries, opening up new impetus and opportunities to secure support and resources for the country's socio-economic development.
The second OECD-Southeast Asia Ministerial Forum and activities under the Southeast Asia Programme (SEARP) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2023 took place from October 26-27 in Hanoi in a hybrid format (in-person and online). Vietnam co-chaired these activities as co-chair of SEARP for the 2022-2025 term. Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son co-chaired the OECD-Southeast Asia Ministerial Forum. |
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