Filippino President to visit VN next week

The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the above news on Friday.

Since Viet Nam and the Philippines set up diplomatic ties in 1976, the bilateral ties have been nurtured based on amity, equality, mutual respect and cooperation beneficial to the peoples of both nations.

The two countries upgraded the bilateral ties to strategic partnership level in 2015 with a view to elevate the level and intensity of bilateral exchanges between the two countries and to harness advantages for common development.

Both sides pledged to increase the frequency and diversify the modes of bilateral exchanges at all levels, including political parties, heads of state, government, departments/ministries and other national agencies, the Legislature, local government units and technical working groups, as well as establish the hotline between senior leaders of both countries.

They upheld the Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC), led by the Foreign Ministries of both sides, as the primary mechanism for discussing the details of bilateral cooperative activities under this Strategic Partnership. The JCBC shall also be the platform to formulate and implement the six-year Viet Nam – Philippines Action Plan, which shall be reviewed every three years.

The two countries committed to sustaining regular meetings of Viet Nam – Philippines Defense Cooperation Working Group at the Assistant Secretary/Director General – level on an annual basis, and the Viet Nam – Philippines Defense Strategic Dialogue at the Vice Minister-level.

The two ASEAN member countries also vowed to increase cooperation to enhance the their capability to combat traditional and non-traditional security threats, especially international terrorism and transnational crime.

In terms of maritime and ocean affairs, they pledged to strengthen bilateral and regional cooperation between and among maritime law enforcement and maritime safety administration agencies through dialogue and coordination, practical cooperation and capacity-building activities, recognizing that maritime and ocean issues are vital aspects of bilateral cooperation.

The two sides also pledged to abide by a rules- and norms-based approach in promoting a stable maritime security and maritime safety regime and promote the harmonized implementation in the region of universally-accepted norms and conventions, including conventions and regulations of the International Maritime Organization and related organizations, whenever applicable, to ensure the safety of life and property, and good order at sea./.

By Quang Minh