 |
| Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and ASEAN and Japanese leaders at the opening ceremony of the Summit commemorating 50 years of ASEAN-Japan relations, morning of December 17. (Photo: Duong Giang) |
On the occasion of attending the ASEAN-Japan Summit commemorating the 50th anniversary of relations in Tokyo, Japan, on December 17th, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held bilateral meetings with Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, the President of the Philippines, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, the Sultan of Brunei, and others.
During the meeting with Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, both sides expressed satisfaction with the positive development of the friendly neighborly relations and the Vietnam-Thailand Strategic Partnership. The two Prime Ministers agreed to effectively coordinate the implementation of the Action Program for the Enhanced Vietnam-Thailand Strategic Partnership for the period 2022-2027, aiming to achieve the target of US$25 billion in trade turnover by further facilitating the goods market. The two leaders agreed on the need to strengthen cooperation in areas where both sides have potential and strengths, including rice export cooperation, while also focusing on implementing the "Three Connections" initiative based on ensuring mutual benefit and focusing on areas such as digital transformation, green transformation, and the circular economy. The leaders also agreed to strengthen cooperation in defense and security, exchange information in combating cross-border crimes, and strive to elevate the bilateral relationship to a new level.
The Prime Minister highly appreciated Thailand's continued position as Vietnam's largest trading partner in ASEAN and the ninth largest foreign investor in Vietnam. The Prime Minister requested Thailand to share its experience in tourism development and to cooperate in building cooperation programs connecting the three or four countries in this field.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin affirmed that Vietnam is one of Thailand's important partners in the region and that both sides have much potential to strengthen cooperation in the future. Accepting the invitation from Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, the Thai Prime Minister stated that he will pay an official visit to Vietnam in 2024 and co-chair the 4th Joint Cabinet Meeting between the two countries.
The two Prime Ministers also agreed on strengthening solidarity and unity within ASEAN, promoting cooperation in the Mekong Subregion, and supporting ASEAN's common stance on the South China Sea issue as well as other regional and international issues of common concern.
 |
| ASEAN and Japanese leaders at the opening ceremony of the ASEAN-Japan Summit commemorating 50 years of relations, on the morning of December 17. (Photo: Duong Giang) |
During his meeting with the President of the Philippines, the Philippine leader expressed his pleasure at visiting Vietnam in 2024 to discuss ways to further strengthen the Strategic Partnership between the two countries. The two leaders agreed to effectively implement bilateral cooperation mechanisms and enhance cooperation in areas where both sides have potential and strengths, such as agriculture, including rice production, to ensure food security. The two leaders also affirmed their commitment to continued cooperation on global issues such as climate change response and regional issues, including the South China Sea issue.
During the exchange with the Sultan of Brunei, both sides highly appreciated the positive developments in the Comprehensive Partnership between Vietnam and Brunei. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh proposed that the two sides continue to coordinate closely to effectively implement the Action Program for the Comprehensive Partnership for the period 2023-2027 and the results and agreements reached during the Prime Minister's official visit to Brunei (February 2023). The Sultan of Brunei supported measures to strengthen bilateral cooperation and affirmed that he would soon visit Vietnam at a suitable time in 2024.
During the meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, both sides agreed that the Vietnam-Malaysia Strategic Partnership is developing very positively, especially with the organization of many practical activities to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries (1973-2023).
The Malaysian Prime Minister expressed his respect and admiration for President Ho Chi Minh; thanked Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh for donating some of President Ho Chi Minh's works and for having some of his beautiful poems translated into Malay. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said he would send the Malaysian Prime Minister a book by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong on Vietnam's foreign policy, economic, defense, security, and development guidelines.
Both sides affirmed their commitment to continue coordinating closely to effectively implement agreements reached by high-level leaders, including the results of the Malaysian Prime Minister's official visit to Vietnam (July 2023); strengthening contacts and exchanges of high-level and other delegations; and promptly organizing the 4th Joint Committee Meeting on Trade to discuss specific measures to promote balanced development of bilateral trade, facilitate import and export, and remove trade barriers; effectively exploiting the potential for cooperation between the two countries, including agriculture, agricultural production and processing, food, finance, and banking.
The two leaders also agreed to strengthen cooperation in new areas such as digital transformation, clean energy, green economy, and circular economy, creating a favorable environment for businesses and investors from both countries and attracting high-tech investors from other countries.
On this occasion, the Malaysian Prime Minister thanked the Vietnamese Government for its assistance in evacuating Malaysian citizens stranded in Myanmar, and requested the maintenance of a hotline between the two Prime Ministers and the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs to address important issues.
Earlier, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had breakfast and working sessions with Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet.
Source
Comment (0)