General Secretary receives President of Senate and House of Representatives of Thailand

On the afternoon of June 26, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong had many working sessions with Thai leaders.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong attended the wreath-laying ceremony at the King Rama VII Monument in the grounds of the Thai Parliament.

At the Thai National Assembly headquarters, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong met with Speaker of the Thai House of Representatives (Chairman of the National Assembly) Somsak Kiatsuranont and President of the Thai Senate Nikom Wiratpanich.

The Thai National Assembly held a solemn welcome ceremony for General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, with the playing of the national anthems of both countries and an honor guard review in front of the statue of King Rama VII, right on the grounds of the Thai National Assembly headquarters.

Speaker of the House of Representatives Somsak Kiatsuranont and President of the Thai Senate Nikom Wiratpanich warmly welcomed General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation to their official visit to the Kingdom of Thailand; affirmed that the visit is of great significance, opening a new phase in the friendship and cooperation between the two countries within the framework of the Strategic Partnership; and suggested that the two countries further strengthen cooperation in all fields, especially in the economy, including cooperation in rice production and trade.

The two Presidents expressed their admiration and appreciation for Vietnam's achievements; believing that Vietnam will achieve even greater successes in national construction and development.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong expressed his delight at visiting the beautiful country of Thailand for the first time and witnessing the strong and comprehensive development of the Kingdom of Thailand. He also expressed his delight at meeting again with Speaker of the House of Representatives Somsak Kiatsuranont and President of the Thai Senate Nikom Wiratpanich. The General Secretary thanked the Prime Minister, the Thai Government, the President of the National Assembly, the President of the Senate and the Thai people for the warm and thoughtful reception given to the General Secretary and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation.

Referring to the bilateral relationship, the leaders highly appreciated the good and strong developments in the increasingly close and trustworthy cooperative relationship in recent years, including relations between the Parties, National Assemblies, Governments and people of the two countries.

Meeting between General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and Chairman of the State Council
Nikom Wairatpanij Institute of Thailand

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong informed the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate of Thailand of the good results of his talks with Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, the major directions and specific measures to strengthen the multifaceted relationship between the two countries in the coming time. The leaders agreed that the establishment of the strategic partnership between the two countries is a very important event, opening a new chapter in the friendship and cooperation, creating a foundation to strongly and extensively promote bilateral cooperation as well as within the multilateral framework, for the benefit of the people of the two countries, for peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong welcomed and highly appreciated the fact that the two National Assemblies, especially in recent times, have strengthened practical and appropriate forms of cooperation, such as maintaining annual exchanges of National Assembly delegations, exchanges between the two Parliamentary Friendship Groups to enhance trust and understanding between the leaders of the two National Assemblies, parliamentarians and deputies of the two countries, promoting parliamentary cooperation in supervising the implementation of cooperation agreements and treaties between the two countries; continuing to exchange and support each other at regional forums within the framework of ASEAN, APEC, ASEM, IPA as well as the International Inter-Parliamentary Forum IPU.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Speaker of the House of Representatives Somsak Kiatsuranont and President of the Thai Senate Nikom Wiratpanich believe that ASEAN countries will strengthen solidarity and cooperation, and together resolve international and regional multilateral issues, including the East Sea issue.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong also asked the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate and Thai parliamentarians to continue to have a political voice in supporting and creating favorable conditions for overseas Vietnamese to do business and live in Thailand, creating a bridge of friendship for the increasingly developing multifaceted cooperation and people-to-people exchange between the two countries.

* Also on the afternoon of June 26, Chairman of the Thai Democratic Party, former Prime Minister Abishit Vejjajiva visited General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

The President warmly welcomed General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation to Thailand, considering this an important milestone, opening a new phase in the friendship and cooperation between the two countries. President Abishit Vejjajiva affirmed to continue strengthening relations with the Communist Party of Vietnam, promoting exchanges between the two peoples.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong informed President Abishit Vejjajiva of some general features of the recent situation in Vietnam; the situation of the Communist Party of Vietnam, and the foreign relations of the Communist Party of Vietnam with political parties in countries around the world.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong reviewed important milestones in the relationship between the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Democratic Party of Thailand over the past decades, notably the event in March 1993 when Mr. Chuan Leekpai, former Prime Minister and former Chairman of the Democratic Party, became the first Thai Prime Minister to visit Vietnam; and in the same year, General Secretary Do Muoi was also the first General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam to visit Thailand (October 1993). These events opened a new page in the relationship between the two countries and the two parties.

The General Secretary said that after Prime Minister Chatichai Choohavan introduced the strategy of "Turning the battlefield into a market" in 1988, it created an important foundation for improving relations between Thailand and the Indochinese countries, as well as for expanding relations between the Communist Party of Vietnam and Thai political parties.

At the reception, the General Secretary expressed his belief and hope that, with its important position and role in politics and in the Thai Parliament, the Thai Democratic Party will continue to promote its influence, serve as a foundation and make practical contributions to the overall development of the two countries' relations in all fields, especially economic cooperation in the coming time.

The General Secretary suggested that the two Parties continue to strengthen exchanges, share experiences and coordinate their stances at multilateral and political forums of which the two Parties are members; respectfully invited Mr. Abishit Vejjajiva to soon visit Vietnam again and was ready to welcome him at a time convenient for both sides. Mr. Abishit Vejjajiva happily accepted the invitation.

* Previously, at noon on June 26, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong had a working session with a number of leaders of leading Thai enterprises, typical representatives of Thai businessmen, and investors in Vietnam.

At the meeting, the General Secretary informed Thai business leaders of some major features of Vietnam's economic situation, the policies of the Party and State of Vietnam on attracting investment and further enhancing trade and investment between Vietnam and Thailand. General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong expressed his delight at the good development in the friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Thailand, in which trade and investment relations have always been a bright spot in the bilateral relationship; at the same time, he highly appreciated the great contributions of Thai businesses in promoting trade and investment relations between Vietnam and Thailand.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong also said that the potential for economic cooperation between the two countries is still very large, the two sides need to: promote the Joint Trade Committee mechanism to increase trade and investment; strengthen cooperation in finance and financial resources both within the bilateral and multilateral frameworks; strengthen cooperation in the production and export of rice, agricultural products, etc.; strengthen cooperation in human resource development; strengthen investment cooperation in the construction and development of urban infrastructure; strengthen close coordination, complete multimodal transport connections; strengthen cooperation between business organizations, enhance the role of the Vietnam - Thailand and Thailand - Vietnam Business Councils.

The General Secretary said that Vietnam always welcomes and is ready to create favorable conditions for Thai enterprises to invest and do business long-term in Vietnam; at the same time, he asked the Thai side to create favorable conditions for Vietnamese enterprises to invest in Thailand.

Along with the General Secretary's program, on June 26, a number of other activities took place: Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc received the Chairman of AMATA Group, attended the opening ceremony of the Hanoi - Bangkok route of Vietjet Air; Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Pham Thi Hai Chuyen had a working session with the Deputy Minister of Labor of Thailand; Head of the Central External Relations Commission Hoang Binh Quan gave an interview to the Dan Toc newspaper and the Thai News Agency about the meaning, purpose and some main results of the General Secretary's visit to Thailand; Permanent Deputy Minister of Public Security Dang Van Hieu had working sessions with the Commander of the Royal Police and the Secretary General of the National Security Council of Thailand./.

According to (vov.vn) - LT