Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son meets with US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Mr. Joseph Borell

On the evening of July 13, on the occasion of the 56th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting and related meetings in Jakarta, Indonesia, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son had a brief meeting with US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union (EU) Joseph Borell.

AMM-56: Bộ trưởng Ngoại giao Bùi Thanh Sơn gặp Ngoại trưởng Hoa Kỳ Antony J. Blinken và ông Joseph Borell

On the evening of July 13, on the sidelines of AMM-56, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son had a brief meeting with US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken.

* At the meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, both sides expressed their delight at the positive developments in the cooperative relationship between the two countries in recent times; affirming the importance that the leaders of the two countries attach to the Vietnam-US Comprehensive Partnership.

Minister Bui Thanh Son said he is ready to work with the United States to continue deepening the Comprehensive Partnership between the two countries, on the basis of respecting each other's independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and political institutions, aiming to elevate the relationship when conditions are suitable.

Secretary of State Blinken highly appreciated the results of the phone call between General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Joe Biden (March 30, 2023) and agreed to coordinate with the Vietnamese side to effectively implement the results of the phone call, especially promoting visits and contacts between high-ranking leaders of the two countries and implementing signed cooperation agreements.

The US Secretary of State thanked the Vietnamese Government, especially the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for thoughtfully and respectfully organizing his recent visit to Vietnam.

The two sides also discussed regional and international issues of mutual concern and agreed to strengthen coordination at regional and international forums in the coming time.

Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son met with High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union (EU) Joseph Borell.

* In the exchange with Mr. Joseph Borell, the two leaders expressed satisfaction with the strong development of the Vietnam-EU Comprehensive Partnership; agreed to increase contacts and exchanges of delegations at all levels, especially high-level delegations, and effectively implement the Vietnam-European Union Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

Minister Bui Thanh Son asked EU member countries to soon complete the ratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA); hoping that the EU will soon consider removing the IUU “yellow card” for Vietnamese seafood.

Mr. J. Borrell affirmed that the EU is ready to support Vietnam in the energy transition process, implementing the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) mechanism, towards the goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

In international terminology, IUU (Illegal, Unrepoted and Unregulated Fishing) means illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. In 2017, Vietnam was given a yellow card warning by the European Commission (EC) for failing to comply with IUU regulations. This means that seafood exported to the EU will be subject to 100% control instead of random inspection, which means businesses will incur more costs.

Source