Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh holds talks with Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel

After the official welcoming ceremony on the morning of May 4, 2023, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held talks with Prime Minister Xavier Bettel.

At the talks, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh expressed his delight at welcoming Prime Minister Xavier Bettel on an official visit to Vietnam and sent greetings from General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong andPresident Vo Van Thuong to Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed the importance of the friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Luxembourg, a founding member of the European Union, playing an important role; assessed that Prime Minister Xavier Bettel's visit to Vietnam was of great significance, especially in the context of the two countries celebrating the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations, the first visit to Vietnam by the head of the Luxembourg Government in more than 20 years; affirmed the desire and determination of both sides to bring the bilateral relationship to a new stage of development, in depth, effectively and substantially.

Prime Minister Xavier Bettel expressed his pleasure to visit Vietnam and meet Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh again five months after his official visit to Luxembourg in December 2022; thanked Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the Vietnamese people for the warm, respectful and sincere reception; and highly appreciated Vietnam's socio-economic achievements in recent times.

In an open, sincere and trusting atmosphere, the two Prime Ministers had a comprehensive exchange on the socio-economic situation of each country, bilateral cooperation and regional and international issues of mutual concern.

The two Prime Ministers agreed on measures to enhance political trust, deepen the friendship and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries, especially increasing the exchange of delegations at all levels, especially high-level ones, as well as effectively implementing bilateral cooperation mechanisms, and studying the establishment of new cooperation mechanisms in line with the potential and needs for cooperation and development between the two countries.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh highly appreciated the positive developments in economic and trade exchanges between the two countries, especially in the field of investment, as Luxembourg is the third largest European investor in Vietnam with a total investment capital of 2.6 billion USD; and welcomed the delegation of leading Luxembourg businesses in areas of strength such as finance, banking, logistics, energy conversion, etc. accompanying Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and attending the Vietnam - Luxembourg Business Forum.

The two sides agreed to promote the construction of logistics centers and the establishment of bonded warehouse systems in each country. The Luxembourg Prime Minister agreed to fully and effectively implement the Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) to enhance bilateral trade; urge other EU countries to soon ratify the Vietnam - EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA); support the enhancement of cooperation between the EU and Vietnam on sustainable fisheries development and the European Commission (EC) to soon remove the IUU yellow card.

The two sides welcomed the establishment of the Strategic Partnership on Green Finance by the two countries’ Finance Ministries, a new pillar of cooperation, contributing to deepening the Vietnam-Luxembourg relationship, especially in training activities, capacity building, support for policy and institutional building, technology transfer, financial support for agriculture and climate change, etc. towards green growth, sustainable and inclusive development. Regarding development cooperation, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh asked Luxembourg to continue providing ODA to Vietnam in the fields of finance and banking.

The two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in other areas such as culture, science and technology, information and communication, people-to-people exchange, tourism, cooperation in responding to climate change, etc. In particular, in the field of education and training, the Luxembourg Prime Minister supported increasing scholarships for Vietnamese students to study in Luxembourg.

On this occasion, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh thanked and asked Luxembourg to continue creating favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community to successfully integrate and contribute to socio-economic development in Luxembourg.

The two Prime Ministers had in-depth discussions on regional and international issues of mutual concern, affirming continued coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums and international organizations such as the ASEAN-EU cooperation framework, ASEM, and the United Nations, especially during the time when both countries are members of the Human Rights Council, contributing to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.

Regarding the East Sea issue, the two sides reaffirmed the importance of ensuring peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea, not using or threatening to use force, resolving disputes by peaceful means, in accordance with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS); supporting the early adoption of a Code of Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (COC) that is substantive, effective and in accordance with international law.

After the talks, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Prime Minister Xavier Bettel witnessed the signing ceremony of cooperation documents in the financial sector, especially the Strategic Partnership Agreement on green finance between the two countries' Ministries of Finance.

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