Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had separate meetings with his Canadian and Indian counterparts Justin Trudeau and Narendra Modi, and President of the Union of Comoros Azali Assoumani on May 20 in Hiroshima, Japan, as part of his trip to attend the expanded Summit of the Group of Seven (G7).
In their discussion, Chinh and Trudeau expressed their delight at the sound growth of the Vietnam-Canada comprehensive partnership, notably the over-7-billion-USD trade turnover posted last year. Given that the nations are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations this year (1973-2023), they agreed to promote multifaceted cooperation, contact, dialogue, the exchange of delegations at all levels, and people-to-people exchange.
The Vietnamese PM recommended the two sides continue to promote trade-investment ties toward raising the bilateral trade value to 10 billion USD soon. He proposed Canada cooperate with Vietnam in new areas such as digital transformation, green transformation, circular economy and innovation; and sign bilateral agreements to promote cooperation in areas where the two sides have strengths and demand.
Chinh also suggested Canada further create conditions for more Vietnamese goods to be exported to its market; and support and improve the legal status of the Vietnamese expatriate community.
The Canadian PM stated Canada values Vietnam’s role and position in the international arena and spoke highly of the Vietnamese community’s contributions to his country’s development.
He highly agreed with Chinh’s proposals on measures to boost the nations’ relations, including the promotion of their economic and trade ties within the framework of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and other frameworks.
Highly appreciating Vietnam’s participation in the United Nations Human Rights Council, Trudeau also asked Vietnam to support Canada in strengthening the cooperation with ASEAN and the region. He affirmed that Canada always upholds international law and a rules-based order, and supports ASEAN’s stance on the East Sea.
Chinh took the occasion to invite Trudeau to soon re-visit Vietnam.
* Meeting his Indian counterpart Modi, Chinh proposed the nations continue to strengthen their multi-faceted cooperation, with priority given to the enhancement of political and diplomatic relations and joint work in fields of mutual needs such as trade-investment, services, finance-banking, tourism, science-technology, innovation, and response to common challenges amidst the global crises and uncertainties.
Lauding the positive growth of the two countries’ bilateral trade with a turnover of nearly 15 billion USD in 2022, Modi affirmed that Vietnam is one of the most important strategic partners in India’s Indo-Pacific strategy and “Act East” policy. He held that economic-trade cooperation will continue to be an important pillar in the countries’ relationship.
The two sides agreed to further promote the bilateral consultation and dialogue mechanisms; expand cooperation in fields of complementary advantages; closely coordinate and share stances on international and regional issues of common concern at international and regional forums, especially the UN as well as ASEAN-led mechanisms and the framework of the Mekong–Ganga Cooperation.
The two PMs underscored the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight; and upholding international law in the East Sea. They called on all sides involved to fully and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and soon finalise a substantial and effective Code of Conduct (COC) in the waters in line with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), creating conditions to settle disputes in the East Sea by peaceful means.
Modi invited Chinh to visit India at an appropriate time this year and the Vietnamese PM accepted the invitation.
* At their meeting, the Vietnamese PM and the Comoros President said the countries share a traditional friendship but their cooperation remain modest and has yet to reflect their true potential. They agreed to step up the exchange of delegations at all levels and the sharing of information on each nation’s economy, trade, investment, opportunities and strengths.
Vietnam attaches importance to relations with African friends, including the Comoros, Chinh stated, proposing the Comoros facilitate access of some of Vietnam’s key products such as rice, food, consumer goods, textiles, footwear, and machinery to its market.
The PM suggested that the two sides strengthen their cooperation in agriculture, including tripartite agricultural development cooperation projects; their discussion and coordination at international organisations and multilateral forums.
Highlighting Vietnam’s desire to cooperate with and support the African Union (AU) to realise its vision of an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa for the people, he affirmed Vietnam is willing to be a bridge to promote cooperation between the union and ASEAN.
Stating his wish to deepen relations with Vietnam in his posts as the president of the Comoros and the AU, Assoumani agreed with Chinh’s suggestions and proposed Vietnam share experiences with the Comoros in ensuring food security, energy, and health serving its plan and vision to become an emerging economy by 2030.
The president agreed that the two sides would soon negotiate and sign a number of important documents, such as an agreement on visa exemption for diplomatic and official passport holders, to create a favourable legal basis for their bilateral cooperation.
Regarding multilateral collaboration, the Comoros will continue to work closely with Vietnam to support multilateralism and the role of international law, he stated./.
Source: Vietnam News Agency