Injecting fresh momentum to Viet Nam-Philippines economic cooperation

Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cuong made the above remarks during a recent interview ahead of the visit.

According to Nguyen, Viet Nam and the Philippines are Southeast Asian nations that share a long-standing friendship and common strategic interests in maintaining peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region.

He underlined the extreme significance of the upcoming visit as it is the first of this kind to the Philippines by a CPV General Secretary, taking place as the two countries are preparing to celebrate the 50th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties and as the Philippines holds the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2026. The visit reflects Viet Nam's high regard for its friendship and cooperation with the Philippines, as well as its commitment to ASEAN and Southeast Asia.

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1976, bilateral relations have continued to grow across multiple sectors, becoming increasingly substantive and effective. The elevation of bilateral ties to a Strategic Partnership in 2015 marked an important milestone, paving the way for deeper and more comprehensive cooperation in a new stage of development.

The two countries have also maintained close coordination at regional and international forums, particularly within ASEAN, the United Nations, and other multilateral mechanisms. Both sides have consistently supported ASEAN centrality, multilateralism, and respect for international law while contributing to a united, resilient, and sustainably developing Southeast Asia.

Maritime and ocean cooperation remains a highlight of bilateral ties, as both nations are littoral countries with shared interests in maintaining peace, security, safety, and freedom of navigation in the East Sea. Viet Nam and the Philippines have promoted dialogue, confidence-building measures, and cooperation based on international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Defense and security cooperation has also become increasingly practical and substantive through delegation exchanges, training programs, experience sharing, and collaboration in maritime security, combating transnational crime, search and rescue operations, disaster prevention and response, and addressing non-traditional security challenges.

In the area of agriculture and food security, Viet Nam hopes to remain a reliable partner of the Philippines while expanding cooperation in agricultural and seafood processing, high-tech farming applications, and climate change adaptation — areas that are crucial to sustainable development and improving people's livelihoods in both countries.

The Deputy Foreign Minister noted that maritime and ocean cooperation will continue to be a central focus of bilateral collaboration, alongside efforts to strengthen defense and security ties, particularly in maritime security, transnational crime prevention, search and rescue activities, and responses to natural disasters and other emerging security challenges.

The two countries are also expected to deepen coordination within ASEAN and other multilateral frameworks in support of ASEAN solidarity and centrality, as well as an open, inclusive, and rules-based regional architecture.

In addition, the visit is expected to promote people-to-people exchanges and cooperation in education, culture, tourism, and locality-to-locality partnerships, thereby further strengthening the social foundation for long-term Viet Nam–Philippines relations, the Deputy Foreign Minister added./.