Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet and his Philippine counterpart Benigno S. Aquino III have discussed directions and measures to develop bilateral cooperation more effectively, matching the two countries’ potentials.
During talks which took place after a solemn welcome ceremony for the Philippine President in Hanoi on October 26, the two leaders expressed their pleasure with fine developments in the friendship and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries.
Those developments were marked by a joint statement on Vietnam-Philippines bilateral cooperation framework in the first 25 years of the 21st century and two-way trade exceeding the 2010 target of 2 billion USD two years earlier, they said.
The two leaders agreed to strengthen and expand mutually beneficial cooperation in other fields such as defence, agriculture, education and training, and maritime.
They also emphasised the importance of the Vietnam-Philippines Joint Committee and agreed to hold the sixth session of the committee as soon as possible.
Regarding the regional and international situation, the two leaders agreed to continue maintaining their close coordination and cooperation at regional and global forums, especially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the East Asian Summit (EAS), the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the United Nations (UN).
They shared views that peace and stability in the East Sea were common aspirations and interests of regional countries and highlighted the importance of the strict implementation of Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) towards a future Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).
President Triet spoke highly of the Philippines’ support and assistance for Vietnam in the year it assumed the ASEAN Chair. Meanwhile, the Philippine President thanked the Vietnamese government for its facilitation for the Philippines’ investment projects in the country.
Concluding the talks, President Triet and his Philippine counterpart witnessed the signing of cooperative agreements in defence, academic study, response to oil spills as well as search and rescue work.
