The World and Vietnam Newspaper is pleased to present the full text of the Vietnam-Philippines Joint Press Statement issued on the occasion of the State visit to Vietnam by President of the Republic of the Philippines Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr., from January 29-30, 2024.
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| President Vo Van Thuong and his wife, along with President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. and his wife, at the Presidential Palace. |
1. At the invitation of Mr. Vo Van Thuong, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Mr. Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr., President of the Republic of the Philippines, paid a State visit to Vietnam from January 29-30, 2024.
2. During the visit, President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. attended the official welcoming ceremony and held talks with President Vo Van Thuong. The Philippine President also met with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue.
3. During the talks, the two leaders highly appreciated the strong and substantive development of the Strategic Partnership between the two countries. Based on many similarities in viewpoints and interests, the two leaders agreed to strengthen and develop the partnership to become even deeper and more comprehensive, especially as both sides approach the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Strategic Partnership in 2025 and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2026.
4. The two leaders agreed to further strengthen political trust, friendly relations, and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries through maintaining regular visits and contacts at high levels and at all levels through all channels: Party, State, Government, Parliament, and people-to-people exchanges. Both sides committed to promoting existing bilateral cooperation mechanisms and effectively implementing the documents signed between the two countries to enhance mutual understanding and trust.
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| Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. attend a meeting between businesses of the two countries. (Source: VNA) |
5. The two leaders supported further deepening economic relations and encouraged the implementation of joint cooperation initiatives between the two countries. Both sides emphasized the importance of increasing bilateral trade and investment, including through effectively leveraging the ASEAN Agreement on Trade in Goods (ATIGA) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to promote integrated supply chains between businesses of the two economies. The two leaders also agreed to cooperate closely to promote smooth trade flows with the goal of increasing total bilateral trade to US$10 billion as soon as possible, as well as creating a favorable business environment for investors in areas of mutual interest. The two leaders also discussed potential areas of cooperation such as agriculture, particularly rice trade and market access for agricultural products, food security, energy security, infrastructure development, education, transport management, innovation, tourism, connectivity, science and technology, and environmental protection, among other areas.
6. Both sides noted the strong momentum of cooperation in the defense and security sector, contributing positively to strengthening strategic cooperation between Vietnam and the Philippines. Accordingly, the two leaders agreed to: (i) continue to promote high-level visits, information sharing activities, educational and training exchanges, and defense dialogue mechanisms; (ii) enhance coordination in the defense industry sector as well as cooperation in military medicine, search and rescue, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR), maritime and aviation security, counter-terrorism, cybersecurity, peacekeeping operations, among other areas; and (iii) strengthening cooperation in law enforcement against transnational crime, including cooperation in combating human trafficking, crimes and violations of law related to gambling, illegal lending, illegal residence, illegal labor… as well as traditional and non-traditional security challenges, and calling on relevant officials of both countries to leverage each other's expertise and experience.
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| National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue met with Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. |
7. The two leaders agreed to strengthen existing maritime cooperation mechanisms, especially the Joint Committee on Maritime and Ocean Affairs at the Deputy Foreign Minister level, the hotline between the coast guard forces of the two countries, among other mechanisms, and to adopt other measures to ensure the security and safety of each other's fishermen and to peacefully resolve incidents at sea.
8. The two leaders emphasized the importance of strengthening cooperation on
Education, culture, tourism, healthcare, people-to-people exchanges and cooperation between localities, as well as promoting the role of friendship organizations between the two countries, aim to strengthen ties and mutual understanding, promote connectivity and enrich cultural diversity, contributing to the comprehensive strengthening of relations between the two countries.
9. The two leaders also spent time exchanging views on a range of international, regional, and sub-regional issues of mutual concern, including the situation in Myanmar and the South China Sea. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining peace, stability, and prosperity in the region, including promoting efforts to build the ASEAN Community through the full and effective implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, and supporting sub-regional cooperation, including cooperation mechanisms.
Mekong and BIMP-EAGA. Accordingly, the two leaders welcomed the effective cooperation between Vietnam and the Philippines within ASEAN and agreed to continue strengthening cooperation, coordination, and mutual consultation to effectively and promptly respond to regional and international issues of common concern, thereby contributing to strengthening ASEAN solidarity and its central role in ASEAN-led processes and mechanisms.
10. The two leaders welcomed the close coordination and consultation, as well as mutual support, including the candidacies of both countries, in international organizations and multilateral frameworks, especially the United Nations (UN), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum, and the Asia-Europe Cooperation Forum (ASEM).
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| President Vo Van Thuong and the President visited Thang Long Imperial Citadel. |
11. The two leaders emphasized the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security, maritime safety, and freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea. Both sides called for restraint in actions that complicate or escalate disputes, affect regional peace and stability, and to avoid unilateral actions that could alter the status quo and increase tensions, as well as the peaceful resolution of disputes, without the threat or use of force, in accordance with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the full and effective implementation of the 2002 ASEAN-China Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and to promoting the early completion of negotiations on an effective and legally binding Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) in accordance with international law, including UNCLOS 1982. Accordingly, the two leaders emphasized the need to foster a conducive environment for COC negotiations.
12. During the visit, President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. and President Vo Van Thuong also witnessed the exchange of cooperation documents in various fields, including a Memorandum of Understanding on rice trade cooperation, a Memorandum of Understanding on incident prevention and management in the South China Sea, a Memorandum of Understanding on agricultural cooperation and related fields, a cultural cooperation program for the period 2024-2029, and a Memorandum of Understanding on maritime cooperation.
13. President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. thanked the leaders and people of Vietnam for the warm welcome extended to the Philippine delegation during this visit. On this occasion, the Philippine President also invited the Vietnamese leaders to visit the Philippines at a convenient time.
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