At the invitation of President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Vo Van Thuong and his wife, President of the Republic of the Philippines Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. and his wife will pay a State visit to Vietnam from January 29 to 30, 2024.
On this occasion, Vietnamese Ambassador to the Philippines Lai Thai Binh discussed the cooperative relationship between the two countries and the significance of this visit.
- Could you please evaluate the development of the Vietnam - Philippines strategic partnership in recent times?
Ambassador Lai Thai Binh: Vietnam and the Philippines established diplomatic relations on July 12, 1976, and officially signed the Agreement to upgrade relations to Strategic Partnership on November 17, 2015.
Since then, bilateral relations have continuously developed in all fields.
Politically, high-ranking leaders of the two countries regularly visit each other and maintain talks and contacts on the sidelines of multilateral conferences.
In 2022, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue had a very successful visit to the Philippines. In 2023, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had four meetings with Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on the sidelines of summits, demonstrating the closeness and high political trust between the two countries.
The two sides also regularly maintain and increasingly enhance the effectiveness of defense and security cooperation forums, through bilateral channels as well as within the framework of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Economically, bilateral trade turnover has more than tripled over the past 13 years, from 2.5 billion USD in 2010 to 7.8 billion in 2022 and remained at 7.8 billion USD in 2023, despite adverse fluctuations in the global market, in which Vietnam's trade surplus with the Philippines continued to increase, reaching 2.5 billion USD.
In addition, cooperation in education, tourism, labor, etc. between the two countries is also developing very dynamically and vigorously, contributing to enhancing people-to-people exchange and making substantial contributions to deepening the strategic partnership between the two countries.
-According to the Ambassador, what is the significance of the upcoming visit to Vietnam by Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and what prospects does it open for the Vietnam-Philippines cooperative relationship in the coming time?
Ambassador Lai Thai Binh: The State visit of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to Vietnam is an important bilateral foreign policy activity, which has been carefully promoted and prepared by both sides since President Marcos took office on June 30, 2022.
The visit will reaffirm the solid strategic partnership between the two countries, enhance political trust at the highest levels, and create momentum to promote bilateral cooperation in all fields, through all channels of the Party, Government, State, National Assembly and people, ahead of major milestones in the bilateral relationship such as the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Strategic Partnership in 2025 and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2026.
The visit is also important for strengthening ASEAN solidarity and ASEAN's central role, especially in the context of complex and unpredictable political and security fluctuations continuing to occur in the region and the world, including the situation in Myanmar and the East Sea.
Through the visit, the strategic cooperation between the two countries will be comprehensively strengthened, bringing real benefits to the people of both countries, making an important contribution to creating and maintaining an environment of peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region as well as in the world.
- Could you please tell us what agreements will be signed during this visit, the development trend of relations between the two countries and the areas in which the two sides prioritize promoting cooperation in the coming time?
Ambassador Lai Thai Binh: Up to now, relevant agencies of the two countries are still actively and urgently exchanging to complete a number of documents, hoping to be able to sign during the visit.
It is expected that the two countries' senior leaders will witness the signing of a number of important agreements in areas such as politics-security, economics-trade, culture, education, tourism, cooperation in agricultural development and ensuring food security.
The Philippines and Vietnam share many similarities in terms of geographical location, population size, level of development as well as many similarities in history, culture and people.
These are favorable foundations for the two countries to enhance cooperation, especially in sharing and exchanging experiences in pursuing socio-economic development goals; at the same time, they are also favorable conditions for businesses of the two countries to increase investment and exploit each other's markets, especially in the context of the needs and strengths of the two economies having great potential to complement each other.
In the coming time, the two sides will prioritize promoting a number of spearheads in bilateral cooperation.
Specifically, in terms of politics and security, the two countries will continue to maintain high-level visits and contacts; continue to implement and improve the effectiveness of existing maritime dialogue and cooperation mechanisms; expand cooperation in defense industry, search and rescue, humanitarian assistance and natural disaster response; strengthen cooperation in preventing transnational crimes and responding to traditional and non-traditional security challenges.
In terms of economy and trade, the two countries have increased the exploitation of new fields, not only promoting traditional Vietnamese products with strengths in the Philippine market such as rice, coffee, and cashew nuts, but also aiming to open the market for other potential products such as green vegetables and fresh fruits, bringing bilateral trade turnover to the target of 10 billion USD soon, while increasing the attraction of interest and investment from businesses of the two countries in each other's markets.
In addition, the two sides will also prioritize encouraging and promoting cooperation and exchange activities in culture, education, and tourism, in order to further enhance understanding and solidarity between the people of the two countries and consolidate comprehensive and substantive bilateral cooperation.
- Thank you very much Ambassador!
HA (according to Vietnam+)Source
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