Prime Minister meets Sultan of Brunei, Thai counterpart on sidelines of ASEAN Summits

At the meeting with the Sultan of Brunei, the two leaders expressed their satisfactions at the positive development in the Viet Nam-Brunei comprehensive partnership, affirming their resolve to strengthen the bilateral relations in a more practical fashion, contributing to building a strong, resilient and sustainable ASEAN Community.

They agreed to increase high-level delegation exchanges and join hands to effectively implement bilateral cooperation mechanisms and the action plan on the implementation of the Viet Nam-Brunei comprehensive partnership in the 2023-2027.

Regarding international and regional issues of common concern, they pledged to maintain solidarity, unity and the central role of ASEAN in the region and ensure peace, stability, security, safety, freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea on the basis of international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982).

Both sides emphasized the need to soon achieve an effective and efficient Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) in accordance with international law, including the UNCLOS 1982.

Prime Minister Pham suggested Brunei create favorable conditions in licensing Vietnamese fishing vessels and fishermen to exploit seafood in Brunei.

He also called on both sides to extend the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation on the use of the hotline to exchange information to address illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

The Sultan of Brunei affirmed that he will arrange a state visit to Viet Nam; stating to promote the friendly relations and step up collaboration in trade, agriculture, fishery, and oil and gas with Viet Nam.

He expressed his delight that the two countries will soon sign a MoU on cooperation in the field of Halal, agreeing to enhance cooperation and participate in the global supply chain of Halal goods and food.

During the meeting between the Vietnamese and Thai Prime Ministers, both sides hailed the fruitful development of the Viet Nam-Thailand enhanced strategic partnership.

They occurred to increase all-level meetings and exchanges and direct relevant agencies to effectively implement bilateral cooperation mechanisms as well as the action program to realize the Viet Nam-Thailand enhanced strategic partnership for the 2022–2027 period across all sectors.

The two leaders pledged to soon raise the bilateral trade to US$25 billion in a balanced manner by reducing trade barriers, facilitating market access for goods, removing obstacles, and strengthening trade and investment ties.

They underlined the importance of implementing the "Three Connections" Strategy, especially enhancing supply chain linkages and strategic areas such as transport, digital economy, green economy, and energy transition.

They consented to soon establish a joint working group to develop the content and specific plan for materializing this strategy.

The Prime Ministers vowed to boost collaboration in potential areas such as economics, tourism, transport, multimodal connectivity, and locality-to-locality exchanges as well as work with relevant nations to pilot the "Six Countries, One Destination" tourism cooperation initiative.

The two leaders agreed on the need to strengthen cooperation, maintain solidarity and unity within ASEAN, and promote its centrality in international and regional issues, including the sustainable management and use of the Mekong River's water resources.

They highlighted the significance of ensuring peace, stability, security, safety, and freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea based on international law, including the UNCLOS 1982, fully and effectively implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in East Sea (DOC), and soon finalizing a practical and effective COC.

The Vietnamese leader reaffirmed the importance of promoting cooperation and information exchange in the fight against terrorism and reactionary organizations, ensuring that no individual or organization is allowed to use one country's territory against the other.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, for her part, affirmed that she will arrange an official visit to Viet Nam soon and co-chair the 4th Viet Nam-Thailand joint cabinet meeting.

Viet Nam is one of Thailand's crucial partners in Southeast Asia, she reiterated, expecting to elevate the bilateral relationship to a new height./.