Vietnamese, Philippine Presidents hold talks

Vo welcomed the Philippine President's first State visit to Viet Nam, saying the visit would create a new momentum for stronger Viet Nam-Philippines Strategic Partnership, especially when the two countries are set to mark the 10th founding anniversary of their strategic partnership in 2025 and the 50th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2026.

Vo also congratulated the Philippines on its socio-economic development achievements, notably the Philippines has become one of the fastest-growing economies in the region.

President Vo suggested the Philippines continue ensuring humane treatment for Vietnamese fishermen, and soon extend the agreement on the hotlines between the two countries' agriculture ministries to quickly exchange information on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing fishing and support Viet Nam to quickly remove the European Commission's yellow card warning againts seafood exports.

President Marcos Jr. asserted that Viet Nam remains the only strategic partner of the Philippines in ASEAN, expressing his wish to further advance the bilateral cooperation in a more effective and practical manner.

Marcos Jr. thanked Viet Nam for have been a long-term and stable rice provider for the Philippines, and praising the signing of a memorandum of understanding on rice trade cooperation on the occasion of his Viet Nam visit as it contributes to ensuring food security and strengthening solidarity between the two sides.

Marcos Jr. reiterated his support for Viet Nam to successfully host the APEC in 2027.

Both leaders hailed the fruitful developments in the bilateral ties, particularly since the two countries upgraded their ties to a strategic partnership in 2015.

Political and diplomatic relations are increasingly strengthened via maintaining contacts and exchanges of delegations at all levels while the bilateral cooperation mechanisms are effectively deployed.

Both leaders vowed to strengthen political and diplomatic ties via all-level delegation exchanges and contacts and work together to build an action program to implement their strategic partnership for the 2025-2030 period.

The pair agreed to boost economic cooperation, striving to raise the two-trade to US$10 billion by reducing trade barriers, facilitating import and export of products such as seafood, fruit products, vegetables, making good use of opportunities from regional trade agreements, and encouraging businesses from both countries to invest in processing, high-tech agriculture, infrastructure development, oil and gas.

They underlined the necessity of expanding cooperation to new fronts such as digital economy, green economy, digital transformation, circular economy, renewable energy while strengthening the resilience of supply chain.

The two leaders pledged to join hands in coping with climate change, pollution, carbon emissions, and plastic waste and enhance security-defense cooperation, stressing the importance of promoting sea and ocean cooperation and endorsing coordination in combating trans-national crimes and high-tech crimes.

Both sides voiced their support for Laos to successfully assume its role as the Chair of ASEAN in 2024 and work with other ASEAN member countries to maintain solidarity and unity in ASEAN.

Regarding the East Sea issue, they committed to maintaining and promoting peace, security, stability, safety and freedom of aviation and navigation, calling on all sides to exercise restraint, avoid threat or use of force, and fully respect diplomatic and legal processes, and resolve disputes by peaceful means, on the basis of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS 1982).

President Marcos Jr. took the occasion to invite President Vo to pay a State visit to Viet Nam at a convenient time and the latter accepted the invitation with pleasure.

Following the talks, both leaders witnessed the signing and exchange of cooperation agreements on agriculture, rice trade, maritime cooperation and culture./.