PM meets with Philippine President

VGP – PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc met with Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on the sidelines of the ASEAN Leaders’ Gathering (ALG) and the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) on October 11 in Bali, Indonesia.

October 12, 2018 8:31 AM GMT+7

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) shakes hands with Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, Bali, Indonesia, October 11 – Photo: VGP/Quang Hieu

President Duterte underlined that the Philippines always attaches importance to Viet Nam as one of its close friends. He took the occasion to thank Viet Nam for rice export, thus contributing to ensuring food security. The Philippines, said Mr. Duterte, also hopes to cement and deepen the strategic partnership and strengthen exchanges of high-ranking delegations.

PM Phuc spoke highly of the visit to Viet Nam by Vice President of the Philippine Democratic Party-Power of the Nation (PDP-Laban) Alfonso Gaba Cusi in August to sign a document on establishing relations with the Communist Party of Viet Nam.

The two leaders discussed important fields of cooperation, namely national defense, security, economy, trade, education, energy, and maritime cooperation.

They agreed to early finalize the Viet Nam-Philippines action plan for 2018-2023 in order to facilitate cooperation in the time to come.

The two leaders were unanimous in coordinating closely with each other to materialize important cooperation mechanisms between the two countries, especially the Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation and the Joint Commission on Maritime and Ocean Affairs Cooperation.

They agreed to intensify affiliation within ASEAN and affirmed the importance of maintaining regional peace, stability, freedom of aviation and navigation in the East Sea; and settling disputes peacefully on the basis of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)./.

By Kim Anh