Joint Statement on upgrade of Viet Nam-UAE relations to Comprehensive Partnership

1. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1993, Viet Nam and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have built a substantive relationship. These bilateral ties have been nurtured and reinforced on the basis of amity, equality, mutual respect, and mutually beneficial cooperation for the two peoples. Both sides have recorded significant achievements and tangible progress in numerous areas of cooperation, such as diplomacy, economic and trade ties. The two sides also share similar interests and demands for cooperation in new prospective areas.

2. Recognizing the vast potential and strengthening ties between the two nations,

Viet Nam and the UAE have conducted amicable consultations to establish a Comprehensive Partnership, further deepening their collaboration across a broad spectrum of areas.

3. On the occasion of the official visit of His Excellency Mr. Pham Minh Chinh,

Prime Minister of Viet Nam, to the UAE, the Leaders of Viet Nam and the UAE agree to upgrade bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Partnership on 28 October 2024.

4. The new framework reflects the stature of the relationship between Viet Nam and the UAE in the new era, with higher political trust at all levels. It serves to expand the scale and scope of cooperation, in the direction of more comprehensive, substantial and deeper manner across the board, build and improve upon existing bilateral cooperation mechanisms, as well as continue to work on and establish new cooperation mechanisms on the basis of respect for international law, and for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

5. In order to realize the vision of this Comprehensive Partnership, the two sides agree to promote cooperation on the following key areas:

I. FOREIGN AFFAIRS, DEFENSE, SECURITY, LEGAL AND JUDICIAL COOPERATION

6. The two sides agree to increase bilateral exchanges and contacts at all levels. These include visits of high-level State and governmental leaders, and leaders of ministries, agencies, and technical working groups.

7. The two sides agree to seize on avenues of cooperation including the Viet Nam - UAE Joint Committee and Deputy Ministerial-level Political Consultation, while expediting the establishment of new cooperative mechanisms, such as cooperation in specialized areas, and collaboration in regional and global initiatives.

8. The two sides agree to advance cooperation in defense, security, judicial, and legal matters in accordance with each country's domestic laws, demands, and capability. These entail collaboration in defense industry, crime prevention and control, joint training and exercise, along with exploring other areas of cooperation.

9. Reaffirming the importance of maintaining regional and international stability, peace, and prosperity, including maritime security, security and safety of sea lanes and supply chains, and international navigation. The two sides will continue to cooperate with each other at regional and international fora, such as the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

II. COOPERATION IN ECONOMIC, TRADE, INVESTMENT, AND AGRICULTURAL MATTERS

The two sides pledge to actively implement the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the view to unlocking US$20 billion in bilateral trade and the resulting economic and trade benefits to the two countries. The two sides agree to enhance trade promotion, engage in cooperation activities, including logistical cooperation, to deepen connections between each other's business communites and to increase trade bilaterally, and between the markets of ASEAN and the GCC. The two sides are committed to making utmost efforts to substantially expanding investments in areas of mutual interest, such as oil and gas, renewable energy, information technology, innovation, digital transformation, green transition, logistics, and agricultural production and processing. Given its expertise and experience, the UAE stands ready to share its experience with Viet Nam in building the Viet Nam International Financial Center in Ho Chi Minh City, and invest in this project. 

Acknowledging the potential for bilateral cooperation in the Halal industry and based on its capability and experience, the UAE stands ready to assist Viet Nam via the sharing of technical and management experience, human resource development, and investment in building Halal testing, verification, and certification centers in Viet Nam. Such efforts will contribute to developing the Halal ecosystem in Viet Nam in service of the global supply chain, including that of the UAE. The two sides pledge to effectively implement the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the Establishment of a Joint Working Group for Economic and Trade Cooperation, and to look into the establishment of new mechanisms for economic cooperation, such as a UAE - Viet Nam Business Council, a Joint Task Force for investment cooperation, and a UAE - Viet Nam Joint Investment Fund.

III. COOPERATION IN ENERGY, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION

15. The two sides recognize energy and green transition as priorities in their bilateral relations, and are committed to enhancing cooperation in accordance with their respective potential and strength, on the basis of equality and mutual benefit. The leaders called on the private sector of both countries to continue promoting and expanding their trade and investment cooperation in the energy sector, including green and renewable energy, LNG, oil and gas production, refining, and petrochemicals. The UAE reaffirms that it will continue to provide access to reliable supplies of oil and gas products to Viet Nam and encourage Viet Nam's provision of high-quality oil and gas services in the UAE, such as engineering, operation, and maintenance, among others.

16. The UAE thanked Viet Nam for its efforts at COP28 and for supporting the success of the UAE Consensus, as well as endorsing COP28's Food, Health, and Gender declarations, and the Global Cooling Pledge. Recognizing the global importance of climate action and sustainable development, both countries welcomed closer cooperation in developing policies, mechanisms, and technical and financial solutions for a just energy transition and greenhouse gas emissions reduction. The UAE looks forward to Viet Nam's progress in diversifying its energy sources to increase the use of renewables and reduce dependence on coal, under the "Just Energy Transition Partnership" (JET-P) program announced at COP28 in Dubai, which supports the objectives of the UAE Consensus. Both sides agreed to explore potential investment collaborations in renewable energy projects, such as wind and solar power, and to advance efforts in environmental protection, biodiversity conservation, natural resource management, climate action, and sustainable adaptive models to mitigate the effects of natural disasters.

17. The two sides agree to closely cooperate in digital transformation, innovation, science, and technology via experience sharing, modernizing and improving governmental capabilities, development of a digital government and digital economy, and connecting innovation centers of the two countries.

IV. COOPERATION IN SOCIO-CULTURAL MATTERS, LABOR, EDUCATION, AND PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE EXCHANGE

18. Acknowledging the fundamental role of people-to-people ties in strengthening bilateral relations, the two sides agree to step up tourism promotion activities and cultural and sports exchanges. The two sides will also strive to promote intercultural initiatives, as well as in the field of sports. The UAE stands ready to assist Viet Nam via investment in sports training.

19. The two sides will redouble their efforts to effectively implement the MOUs in cultural cooperation and in tourism cooperation, step up people-to-people exchanges between the two countries' localities, as well as expand, improve, and create new mechanisms and MOUs of cooperation between the two countries' localities. Both sides will also negotiate and sign an agreement on visa exemption for ordinary passport holders of the two countries.

20. The two sides pledge to effectively implement the MOU on human resources, and enhance efforts to recruit and provide necessary training with regard to vocational skills, language, law and culture of the UAE to Vietnamese laborers, especially skilled workers, to work in the UAE or any other country/territory wherein the UAE has investment or contracted projects.

21. The two parties will enhance cooperation in the field of education, higher education and training, and link educational and research institutions in the two countries, in addition to exchanging expertise in various educational, teaching and academic fields.

22. The two sides will explore cooperation in the field of vaccines and exchange of healthcare expertise.

This document is published on 28 October 2024 in three (03) copies in English, Arabic and Vietnamese, with all texts being equally valid./.