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| Overview of the ASEAN-GCC Summit. (Source: VNA) |
Could you please tell us the significance of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's working trip to attend the first ASEAN-GCC Summit and visit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia?
First of all, I would like to affirm that the working trip of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to attend the ASEAN-GCC Summit and visit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was a great success, achieving and exceeding the set goals, aiming to actively implement the foreign policy of the 13th National Party Congress, which emphasizes the proactive strengthening of relations with other countries and finding new directions to expand economic cooperation for sustainable development, while promoting Vietnam's core role in regional and global multilateral cooperation forums and mechanisms.
Regarding the ASEAN-GCC Summit, this is the first time since the establishment of relations in 1990 that ASEAN leaders met with leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, marking a historic milestone in bilateral relations and adding new momentum to ASEAN-GCC cooperation, for peace, stability and prosperity of both regions and the world.
The ASEAN-GCC Summit has special significance and achieved its set goals with many important results.
Firstly, both sides affirmed their respect for each other's role and position, committed to strengthening and deepening relations, equal and mutually beneficial cooperation; and planned to periodically organize ASEAN-GCC summit meetings every two years.
Second, ASEAN and the GCC emphasized the need to effectively exploit the remaining space and potential for cooperation between the two sides, agreeing to coordinate and promote cooperation in the fields of politics-security, economics, culture-society and development cooperation. Some priority areas include trade, investment, supply chain assurance, connectivity, maritime cooperation, energy security, food, Halal industry, innovation, culture, tourism, labor, climate change response, energy transition, green development, etc.
Third, the two sides agreed to strengthen multilateral cooperation, promote dialogue and cooperation, build trust, respect the rule of law, respect independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, non-interference in each other's affairs, join hands to resolve regional and global challenges, and effectively contribute to peace, security, stability and sustainable development.
The countries expressed concern over recent developments in the Gaza Strip, calling on all parties to immediately cease fire, end the use of force, respect international humanitarian law, resume negotiations, and resolve differences through peaceful means, on the basis of international law and relevant UN resolutions. At the end of the conference, ASEAN and GCC leaders adopted a Joint Statement, outlining directions for developing and enhancing ASEAN-GCC relations in the coming time.
Regarding relations with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries, this visit to Saudi Arabia is the first working trip by a Vietnamese Prime Minister, creating an important premise for the two countries to strengthen political trust and open up new cooperation opportunities.
At the same time, this is also an opportunity to strengthen relations with all Gulf countries, a region with a total GDP of up to 2,200 billion USD, if considered as a single economy, it would rank 8th in the world. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's working trip created a breakthrough in seeking new cooperation opportunities, expanding the market for Vietnamese goods and services in Saudi Arabia and the GCC market, especially in attracting investment capital, expanding trade, energy conversion, sustainable growth, supplying highly skilled labor, developing the Halal industry, exporting agricultural and aquatic products and tourism.
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| Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh holds talks with Prime Minister and Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad bin Salman. (Source: VNA) |
Could you please tell us about the activities and outstanding results of the Prime Minister's recent working trip?
The Prime Minister's visit to Saudi Arabia has paved the way for new cooperation opportunities between Vietnam and Saudi Arabia in particular and GCC member countries in general. During his two days in Saudi Arabia, the Prime Minister conducted 20 activities with diverse content and forms, achieving many specific results in all aspects.
The Vietnamese delegation actively and proactively participated, making important and responsible contributions to the overall success of the first ASEAN-GCC Summit. At the Summit, the Prime Minister delivered an important speech, highlighting the significance of the Summit, opening up great expectations for both sides to work together to bring the relationship to a new height for peace, cooperation and mutual development.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh brought a clear message to the Conference: ASEAN and the GCC need to have political determination, dynamic adaptation, promote self-reliance and great cooperation potential, unleash development resources, initiate breakthrough ideas, and implement specific actions to truly make a strong breakthrough and become a bright spot in regional and world cooperation.
The Prime Minister suggested: (i) ASEAN and the GCC together create more favorable conditions for economy, trade and investment to become the main pillars, the driving force connecting the two regions, complementing each other for mutual development; (ii) It is necessary to quickly institutionalize ASEAN-GCC cooperation through regular, substantive and effective cooperation mechanisms in each specific field to realize the commitments of high-ranking leaders of both sides; (iii) Strengthen multilateral cooperation to jointly maintain a peaceful and stable environment for development.
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| Officials, staff of the Embassy and the Vietnamese community in Saudi Arabia welcomed Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. (Source: VNA) |
For Saudi Arabia, this is the first visit by a senior Vietnamese leader in 13 years and is of great importance, aiming to pave the way, seek and take advantage of cooperation opportunities between Vietnam and Saudi Arabia as well as countries in the Gulf region. During the talks with the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia and bilateral meetings with leaders of GCC member countries, we have shown our determination to promote cooperation with these countries in a deeper, more substantial and more effective manner.
During the discussion, all countries highly appreciated the role and position of Vietnam, its leadership role as well as the future development prospects of the Vietnamese economy. As the leader of Saudi Arabia shared, they wish to join in accompanying Vietnam’s bright future, wishing to turn their admiration for Vietnam into concrete cooperative actions in the coming time.
The Emir of Qatar affirmed that there are no limits to cooperation with Vietnam; he will coordinate to remove all barriers and obstacles to promote cooperation between the two sides in the coming time. The countries believe that there is still much room for cooperation with Vietnam, and that Vietnam can open its doors to attract large investments, strengthen cooperation in traditional fields as well as expand into new fields such as digital transformation, green transformation, energy transformation, cooperation in response to climate change and many other diverse fields.
The countries also expressed their willingness to exchange, promote trade, open markets for Vietnam's agricultural and aquatic products and especially develop the Halal industry, opening a new direction for Vietnam's agricultural and food industry. In addition, the field of cooperation on labor is very important, including sending highly skilled Vietnamese workers to participate in major projects of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries. Finally, promoting cooperation on tourism, enhancing connectivity, cultural exchange, and people-to-people exchanges between Vietnam and the Gulf countries.
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| Deputy Foreign Minister Do Hung Viet. (Photo: Nguyen Hong) |
In order to open up investment capital to Vietnam, Saudi Arabia's $620 billion Public Investment Fund has committed to devoting more resources to major infrastructure development projects in Vietnam. Many large Saudi Arabian corporations have affirmed that they will consider expanding their investment activities in Vietnam in areas such as steel, pre-engineered steel, retail, agriculture and clean energy, and hope to expand their business networks to ASEAN countries through Vietnam.
On the occasion of the visit, along with the successful organization of the Vietnam-Saudi Arabia Business Forum, the two sides also signed five cooperation documents in the fields of justice, diplomacy, crime prevention, tourism and trade promotion, thereby completing the legal framework and favorable cooperation conditions for the two countries in the coming time.
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