PM Chinh meets leaders of other ASEAN countries in Saudi Arabia
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met the Cambodian Prime Minister, the Philippine President, the Indonesian President, and the Singaporean Prime Minister on the sidelines of the first ASEAN-GCC Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on October 20.
Meeting with Cambodian PM Hun Manet, the two sides agreed to effectively implement the signed agreements and promote cooperation and connection between the two economies amid global market shrinking.
They agreed to increase defense-security cooperation, prevent transnational crimes, ensure cyber security, and facilitate business and investment, tourism and education – training links.
They also vowed to work closely and effectively towards building a united, independent, self-reliant and prosperous ASEAN Community, as well as supporting each other at multilateral forums.
Chinh conveyed his best regards to Samdech Techo Hun Sen, chairman of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) and other Cambodian leaders, and respectfully invited Hun Manet to visit Vietnam in the near future.
At a meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr., the two leaders emphasized the need to strengthen cooperation between Vietnam and the Philippines to promptly respond to complex fluctuations in the region and the world.
To that end, they agreed to assign relevant ministries and agencies of the two countries to step up the signing of an intergovernmental agreement on rice trade cooperation to enhance their resilience to any global rice crisis.
The two sides also maintained that they would promote cooperation in important areas such as scientific research at sea, climate change response, agriculture, while creating favourable conditions for their products to penetrate deeper into each other’s markets, helping to soon realise the set target of raising two-way trade turnover to US$10 billion.
Chinh expected that President Marcos Jr. would visit Vietnam soon to give fresh impetus to bilateral relations.
While meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, the two sides affirmed that they would effectively deploy signed agreements and promote the early ratification of the exclusive economic zone delimitation agreement, contributing to bringing practical benefits for their people.
They agreed to assign relevant ministries to negotiate and move towards signing a long-term rice import and export agreement between the two countries, while expanding the import and export of agricultural products that both sides have strengths in each other’s markets.
Chinh congratulated Indonesia on its success in its role as ASEAN Chair 2023 and being elected to the UN Human Rights Council for the 2024-2026 term with the highest number of votes.
Exchanging views on regional and international issues of common concern, the two sides agreed to continue to coordinate closely at regional and international forums, especially at the United Nations and ASEAN.
At another meeting with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, both sides highly appreciated the leaders of the two countries increasing meetings to exchange directions to remove obstacles and create favourable conditions for cooperation in all fields.
The two PMs also discussed the possibility of upgrading Vietnam - Singapore relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership at an appropriate time.
Commending the positive contributions of Vietnam - Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIPs) in Vietnam, the two leaders agreed to assign relevant agencies of the two countries to examine the possibility of establishing an association of industrial parks in the two countries, in order to enhance operational efficiency of VSIPs under a smart, green, sustainable model, coupled with the development of urban and industrial park ecosystems.
The two sides also agreed to cooperate in building the two countries’ databases to promote digital transformation of the two economies.
Lee hailed Vietnam’s great potential in the field of renewable energy, especially wind power and solar power, while Chinh thanked Singapore for licensing Vietnam to provide clean energy to its market.
The two sides also emphasized the importance of strengthening people-to-people exchanges, including exchanges between their youth organisations, to enhance mutual understanding and further foster the friendship and lasting bond between the two countries.
