Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with the President of the Union of Comoros, and received the Director General of the IMF and the Secretary General of the OECD

Vietnam is ready to be a bridge to promote cooperation between ASEAN and AU

At a meeting with Comoros Federation President Azali Assoumani by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, the two leaders assessed that the two countries have traditional friendship relations, but the level of cooperation is still modest, not commensurate with the two countries' potential. The two sides agreed to further strengthen the exchange of delegations at all levels, step up the exchange of information on the economy, trade, investment, opportunities and strengths of each side.

Regarding bilateral cooperation, the Prime Minister asked Comoros to create conditions for a number of Vietnam's strong commodities such as rice, food, consumer goods, textiles, footwear, machinery, etc. to access the Comoros market; proposed that the two sides strengthen cooperation in agricultural fields, including tripartite agricultural development cooperation projects, including a mechanism with the World Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the African Development Bank in Comoros.

The Prime Minister also suggested the two countries strengthen exchanges and coordination at international organizations and multilateral forums; at the same time, affirming Vietnam's desire to cooperate and support the AU to realize its vision of an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, for the people; Vietnam is willing to be a bridge to promote cooperation between ASEAN and AU.

President Azali Assoumani highly agreed with the proposals of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and asked Vietnam to share experiences with Comoros in ensuring food security, energy, health, etc. to support Comoros in implementing its plan and vision to become an emerging economy by 2030.

President Azali Assoumani agreed that the two sides should soon negotiate and sign a number of important documents such as the Agreement on visa exemption for holders of diplomatic and official passports... to create a favorable legal basis for bilateral cooperation. Regarding multilateral cooperation, Comoros will continue to work closely with Vietnam, supporting multilateralism and the role of international law.

Vietnam is a bright star in the world economic sky

Receiving the Director General of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh expressed gratitude for the support and advice of the IMF for the administration of the Government's macroeconomic policy, contributing to building develop policy frameworks in line with trends, access investment funds; I hope the two sides have a new period of cooperation that is more effective in the face of rapid changes in the world.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh asked the IMF to continue providing policy advice to the Government of Vietnam on economic management, perfecting fiscal and monetary tools, and financial-banking restructuring. Along with that, the Prime Minister had a frank exchange, going straight to the issues of concern of the two sides, suggesting new issues in the context of the world economy's continued difficulties.

The IMF's General Director expressed his delight at the positive results of Vietnam's economy, assessing Vietnam as a bright star in the world economic sky, the economy maintained its stability, and the growth rate was positive, in the context of the global economic fluctuations, many risks, and was heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ms. Kristalina Georgieva highly appreciated Vietnam's socio-economic management policy, early control of the COVID-19 epidemic, quick transition to opening the economy; He believes that the Government's implementation of a sure, proactive, flexible, timely and effective monetary policy is very appropriate, helping Vietnam maintain its growth momentum in the recent difficult context.

The IMF's General Director said that Vietnam's economy is forecasted to grow twice as much as the global economic growth rate and the IMF wishes to advise on interest rates, monetary policy, and improve the autonomy of the Vietnamese economy to cope with the crisis. Affirming that the IMF and she personally strongly support and will accompany Vietnam in the development process of Vietnam.

I hope the OECD supports sharing research and approaches on new issues

At the meeting with Mr. Mathias Cormann, Secretary General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh suggested the two sides continue to promote cooperation, in the immediate future, to prepare well for the 2023 Southeast Asian Program Ministerial Meeting; suggested that the OECD create favorable conditions for many Vietnamese coordinators to work at the Secretariat. 

The Prime Minister emphasized that Vietnam is a developing country, an economy in transition, with a large economic openness, limited resilience to external shocks, and asked the OECD to support sharing research and approaches on new issues, especially the global minimum tax, energy security, knowledge economy, circular economy, etc.

The OECD Secretary General congratulated Vietnam on the achievements of economic reform and transformation, thanked Vietnam for its positive contributions and key role in the Southeast Asia Program as its co-chair, especially the successful organization of the October 10 Southeast Asia Program Ministerial Meeting in Hanoi. 

Mr. Mathias Cormann expressed his impression of Vietnam's international role with Vietnam's invitation to attend the expanded G7 Summit as well as the upcoming June 6 OECD Ministerial Council Meeting. 

The OECD Secretary-General pledged to continue promoting exchanges and cooperation with Vietnam, supporting Vietnam's economic recovery and development, especially in areas of interest to Vietnam, including building investment policies that are compatible with the global minimum tax, green economy, and circular economy. 

General Secretary Mathias Cormann hopes that Vietnam will join the initiative of the Forum on Carbon Reduction Methods (IFCMA) to contribute to the development of a standard, holistic approach to carbon reduction at the global level.