President Marcos Jr. thanked Vietnam for its readiness to provide a stable source of rice and ensure food security for the Philippines, during talks with President Vo Van Thuong.
During his talks with President Vo Van Thuong at the Presidential Palace today, Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. affirmed that Vietnam continues to be the Philippines' only Strategic Partner in ASEAN and wishes to strengthen cooperation between the two countries.
The two leaders assessed that since the upgrade to Strategic Partnership in 2015, bilateral relations have continuously developed, with two-way trade turnover continuously increasing strongly. The Philippines continues to be Vietnam's largest rice import market.
According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnamese rice exports to the Philippine market in 2023 will reach 1.75 billion USD, an increase of nearly 18% compared to 2022. Philippine Agriculture Minister Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said that Vietnam currently accounts for 85% of the country's imported rice.
President Marcos Jr. thanked Vietnam for its willingness to provide a stable and long-term source of rice to the Philippines, and appreciated the two sides for signing a Memorandum of Understanding on rice trade cooperation on this occasion, contributing to ensuring food security and strengthening bilateral solidarity.
President Vo Van Thuong and President Marcos Jr. take a photo together before their talks at the Presidential Palace on the morning of January 30. Photo: Giang Huy
The two sides also agreed to strengthen economic cooperation, striving to soon bring bilateral trade turnover to 10 billion USD by limiting the application of trade barriers, facilitating the import and export of goods with potential and strengths of both sides, and encouraging businesses of both countries to invest in important areas such as processing technology, high-tech agriculture, infrastructure, oil and gas, etc.
Vietnam and the Philippines agreed to promote security and defense cooperation, emphasizing the importance of maritime and ocean cooperation, and enhancing capacity to prevent and combat transnational crimes and high-tech crimes.
President Vo Van Thuong asked the Philippines to continue to treat Vietnamese fishermen humanely, promptly extend the Agreement on the hotline between the two countries' Ministries of Agriculture to quickly exchange information on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities, and support Vietnam in soon removing the yellow card from the European Commission.
The two leaders agreed to expand cooperation in important areas such as education, culture, and tourism, including opening more direct flights between the two countries.
President Vo Van Thuong and President Marcos Jr. witnessed the exchange of cooperation documents at the Presidential Palace on the morning of January 30. Photo: Giang Huy
Regarding the East Sea issue, the two sides pledged to maintain and promote peace, security, stability, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation, calling on parties to exercise restraint, not threaten or use force, fully respect diplomatic and legal processes, and resolve disputes by peaceful means, on the basis of fundamental principles of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
After the talks, the two sides issued a Joint Press Statement and held a ceremony to exchange cooperation documents in the fields of agriculture, rice trade, maritime cooperation and culture.
Rice trade cooperation was also mentioned when the Philippine President met with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the government headquarters today. The Prime Minister affirmed that this is one of the important areas of cooperation with the Philippines, not only for economic benefits but also linked to the goal of ensuring food security.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and President Marcos at the government headquarters on the morning of January 30. Photo: Giang Huy
The two leaders affirmed that they will continue to promote the role of the defense, security and maritime cooperation mechanism, soon resume the mechanism of the Deputy Foreign Minister-level Joint Committee on Seas and Oceans, improve the effectiveness of joint patrols, search and rescue at sea, and strengthen cooperation in preventing drugs and other crimes.
President Marcos Jr. agreed with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's proposal to promote cooperation in areas with great potential such as education and training, science and technology, tourism, culture, people-to-people exchange, local cooperation, and encourage the opening of more direct flights connecting famous destinations between the two countries.
Vu Anh - Vnexpress.net
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