Elevating Vietnam-Thailand relations to strategic partnership
On the afternoon of June 25, the official welcoming ceremony for General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation was solemnly held at the Thai Prime Minister's Office according to state-level protocol.
Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra welcomes General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.
(Photo: Tri Dung/VNA)
Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra presided over the welcoming ceremony. Military bands played the national anthems of both countries.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra invited General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to review the honor guard and introduce officials present at the ceremony.
Immediately after the official welcoming ceremony, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong held talks with Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
Attending the talks, on the Vietnamese side were Politburo member, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc; Party Central Committee Secretary, Chief of the Party Central Committee Office Tran Quoc Vuong; Party Central Committee member, Head of the Party Central Committee's External Relations Commission Hoang Binh Quan; Party Central Committee member, Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh; Party Central Committee member, Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh; Party Central Committee member, Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Pham Thi Hai Chuyen; Party Central Committee member, Secretary of Quang Binh Provincial Party Committee Luong Ngoc Binh; Party Central Committee member, Permanent Deputy Minister of Public Security, Senior Lieutenant General Dang Van Hieu; Party Central Committee member, Deputy Minister of National Defense, Senior Lieutenant General Truong Quang Khanh; Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Ngo Duc Thang; Assistant to General Secretary Vu Dung.
On the Thai side, there were: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Surapong Tovichakchaikul; Minister of Defense Sukumpol Suwanatat; Minister of Interior Charupong Ruangsuwan; Minister of Commerce Boonsong Teriyapirom; Thai Ambassador to Vietnam Anuson Chinvanno; Secretary-General of the Prime Minister's Office Suranand Vejjajiva; Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sihasak Phuangketkeow; Secretary-General of the National Security Council Paradorn Pattanabut; Deputy Minister of Labor Anusorn Kraiwatnussorn; Government Spokesperson Teerat Ratanasevi.
On behalf of the Thai Government, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra warmly welcomed and highly appreciated the official visit to Thailand by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation. The visit by the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam comes 20 years after the visit by General Secretary Do Muoi, and takes place in the context of the Thailand-Vietnam relationship being elevated to a new level - strategic partnership.
General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong expressed his delight at visiting Thailand for the first time and witnessing the great achievements and strong development of the Kingdom of Thailand; highly appreciated Thailand's position and role in the region and the world; and affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to developing and expanding the friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Thailand.
Through Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong conveyed his regards and best wishes to King Phumiphon Adunyadet, who is undergoing treatment in the hospital.
In an atmosphere of friendship and trust, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra informed each other about the situation in each country; focused on discussing major directions and measures to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the coming time; and discussed international and regional issues of mutual concern.
The two leaders expressed their delight at the development of bilateral relations over the past nearly 40 years, since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1976, especially since General Secretary Do Muoi's visit to Thailand in 1993. Political relations between the two countries have been strengthened with regular exchanges of high-level delegations and all levels; economic and trade relations have developed rapidly. In 2012, bilateral trade turnover reached over 8.6 billion USD; as of February 20, 2013, Thailand had 300 valid direct investment projects in Vietnam with a total registered investment capital of 6.12 billion USD, ranking 10th out of 99 countries and territories investing in Vietnam.
The two leaders appreciated the important role of the business communities of the two countries in contributing to expanding and improving the effectiveness of economic, trade and investment cooperation between Vietnam and Thailand.
General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra agreed to establish the Vietnam-Thailand and Thailand-Vietnam Strategic Partnership with five main pillars, including: i) political relations, ii) defense and security cooperation, iii) economic cooperation, iv) socio-cultural cooperation, v) regional and international cooperation.
The two leaders agreed to assign relevant agencies of the two countries to coordinate in developing a specific action program and implementation roadmap so that the two Prime Ministers can sign it at the joint Cabinet meeting in October 2013 in Thailand and guide the two countries' levels and sectors to implement it.
The two leaders agreed to conduct more frequent exchanges of delegations at high and all levels in the coming time to strengthen friendship, mutual understanding and exchange experiences in leadership and management of the country. In particular, promoting exchanges and cooperation between the two ruling parties and the two countries' National Assemblies is an important political foundation to promote the continued development of bilateral relations.
The two leaders also expressed high consensus on the need to expand and enhance people-to-people exchanges in a rich, practical and effective manner, especially between the young generations of the two countries.
The two sides pledged to promote economic cooperation, increase two-way trade turnover by 20% each year to reach the target of 15 billion USD by 2020; promote the early signing and implementation of the Labor Cooperation Agreement. Accordingly, Thailand will accept Vietnamese workers to work in Thailand, especially in the field of infrastructure construction, enhance traffic connectivity along the East-West corridor, including routes 8 and 12. Vietnam pledged to create favorable conditions for Thai investors, encourage Thai enterprises to invest in the fields of supporting industries, petrochemicals, oil and gas exploration and exploitation.
At the talks, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra discussed international and regional issues of mutual concern.
The two sides agreed that after more than 45 years since its establishment, ASEAN has continuously grown, with an increasing level of cohesion and connection both within the bloc and with countries outside the region, demonstrating high prestige in international political life.
However, ASEAN is also facing many difficulties and challenges. Vietnam, Thailand and other ASEAN member countries need to continue to strengthen solidarity and cooperation, maintain ASEAN's central role in the regional security structure, successfully build a united and strong ASEAN Community by 2015, and actively contribute to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.
The two leaders expressed concern over recent complicated developments in the East Sea; hoped that relevant parties would resolve disputes by peaceful means, on the basis of compliance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and the ASEAN Six-Point Statement; and agreed to soon build a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) to ensure peace, security, safety and freedom of navigation in the East Sea.
General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong sincerely thanked the Thai Government and people for the warm and thoughtful welcome they gave to the General Secretary and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, and respectfully invited Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to visit Vietnam again at an appropriate time. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra sincerely thanked him and happily accepted the invitation.
Immediately after the end of the talks, the two leaders held a press conference to announce the results of the talks./.
According to (TTXVN) - LT
