Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (L) and Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on the establishment of a political consultation mechanism between the two foreign ministries (Source: VNA) The ministers stressed the need to increasepolitical consultations and coordination between the two foreign ministries andto set up cooperation mechanisms to enhance bilateral relations in all fields,particularly in economy, trade and investment, with a view to raising the two-waytrade value from 350 million USD to 1 billion USD in 2020.
The two sides also agreed to strengthen theircoordination at regional and international forums such as the UN, theAsia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and the EU-ASEAN.
Minh thanked Portugal for its early ratificationof the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Partnership and Cooperation (PCA) betweenVietnam and the EU. He suggested the Portuguese Government and leaders supportand urge the EU to early sign and approve the EU-Vietnam Free Trade AgreementEVFTA, saying that the deals would create favourable conditions for cooperativerelations between Vietnam and the EU in general and Portugal in particular to developsustainably.
The Vietnamese official also took this occasionto call on Portuguese businesses to increase their investments in Vietnam,especially in the fields the two sides can support each other such as maritimeeconomy, navigation, electronic components, tourism and renewable energy.
Host and guest agreed to deploy the memorandumof understanding on tourism cooperation reached by the two countries in 2015and step up cooperation in education-training as well as cultural exchange.
Minh suggested the Portuguese Government assistthe Portuguese Department of Hanoi University and provide Portuguese languagescholarships for Vietnamese students.
Regarding regional and international issues ofmutual concern, the two ministers stressed the importance of peace, stabilityas well as maritime and aviation security, safety and freedom and expressedtheir concern over recent developments in the East Sea.
Minh called on Portugal, in its capacity as anEU member, to back the stance of ASEAN and Vietnam on the settlement of disputesin the East Sea by peaceful measures and on the basis of respectinginternational law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),fully implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea(DOC) and soon finalising a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).
Following the talks, the two officialswitnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on the establishment ofa political consultation mechanism between the two foreign ministries, and another ontraining and information-document exchange between the Diplomatic Academy ofVietnam and the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The same day, Deputy PM and FM Pham Binh Minhheld a working session with Portuguese Minister of Economy Manuel CaldeiraCabral, during which the Vietnamese official suggested the two sides tie upwith each other in such areas as maritime economy and transportation,infrastructure and renewable energy.
Vietnam wants to increase exports to Portugaland stands ready to welcome Portuguese firms to invest in and export productsto the country, he noted.
Caldeira Cabral said Vietnam and Portugal havea lot of opportunities to push up economic, trade and investment ties, sayingthe two countries should accelerate the implementation of inked agreements,including the deal in tourism.
The Portuguese Government encourages itsenterprises to operate in Vietnam, he said, adding that Portugal supports thesigning and approval of the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement.-VNA
VNA
