G20 Summit: Vietnam promotes relations with countries, international organisations

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held separate meetings with leaders from Spain, Paraguay, Canada, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Vatican, and the World Health Organisation (WHO) on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Brazil, on November 19 (local time).

The Vietnamese government leader respectfully conveyed the regards from Party General Secretary To Lam, President Luong Cuong, and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man to the leaders. He extended Lam’s and Cuuong’s invitations to the leaders to visit Vietnam.

Meeting with his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez, Chinh affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to and wishes to deepen its strategic partnership with Spain, and thanked the Spanish government for its support to help Vietnam in overcoming the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi.

He proposed the two sides strengthen delegation exchanges at all levels and soon sign a new joint action programme between the two governments; promote cooperation with Vietnam in areas of transport infrastructure, renewable energy, science - technology, and agriculture.

He expressed his hope that Spain will help urge other European Union (EU) member countries to quickly ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), and the European Commission (EC) to lift its 'yellow card' warning against Vietnamese seafood.

Agreeing with Chinh’s proposals, Sanchez called on the two sides to cooperate in infrastructure development such as subways, urban railways, and urban planning; and promote people-to-people exchanges, and cooperation in sports, tourism, and culture; and mutually support each other at multilateral forums.

In his meeting with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, PM Chinh affirmed Vietnam’s readiness to become a strategic supplier of Halal products, contributing to ensuring food security for the UAE.

The two sides have discussed measures to further intensify bilateral cooperation in order to implement the outcomes achieved during the Vietnamese leader’s visit to the Middle East nation, and to prepare for the upcoming visit to Vietnam by the UAE President. They agreed to boost cooperation in maritime connectivity, tourism, aviation, labour, and other potential fields.

The UAE President stated that his country will actively support and share its experience with Vietnam in building an international financial hub; and strengthen the connection between innovation hubs of the two nations.

Talking to President of Paraguay Santiago Pena, PM Chinh proposed the two countries to strengthen political and diplomatic exchanges; expand economic, trade and investment cooperation; boost people-to-people exchanges; and promote negotiations on cooperation agreements.

The Vietnamese leader asked Paraguay to continue supporting the completion of the internal review process of the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) to facilitate the signing of the Vietnam-MERCOSUR free trade agreement as soon as possible.

For his part, Pena affirmed that his country always treasures the relationship with Vietnam and stands ready to act as a bridge promoting Vietnam's relations with MERCOSUR – the world's leading food trading region.

During their discussion, Chinh and his Singaporean counterpart Lawrence Wong discussed orientations to strengthen the bilateral relations in the future, including promoting bilateral cooperation mechanisms; developing new-generation Vietnam-Singapore industrial parks; enhancing infrastructure and logistics connectivity, and digital connectivity between the two economies. They also talked about collaborating on developing clean and renewable energy systems, forming an electricity grid within ASEAN, and sharing experiences in building international financial hubs. The two PMs also addressed regional and global issues of mutual concern.

Meeting with his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau, Chinh thanked the Canadian government for its assistance to help Vietnam overcome Typhoon Yagi-post consequences.

The two leaders agreed to further strengthen the bilateral relations, particularly expanding cooperation in economics, trade, investment; ODA cooperation, and peacekeeping force training, towards stepping up the Vietnam – Canada comprehensive partnership. They also emphasised the need to maximise benefits of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) that both countries are members.

During a meeting between PM Chinh and Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the two sides expressed their pleasure at the positive developments in the Vietnam-Holy See relationship in recent times, as evidenced by high-level visits and exchanges between the two sides’ leaders.

Chinh took the occasion to invite Pietro Parolin to visit Vietnam. The Vatican Prime Minister accepted the invitation with pleasure and said that Pope Francis eagerly looks forward to visiting Vietnam, thus contributing to promoting the bond between the Holy See and the Catholic Church in Vietnam, and further fostering the relationship between Vietnam and the Vatican.

In a discussion with WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Chinh thanked and valued WHO for providing effective vaccines to Vietnam through the COVAX mechanism, which helped Vietnam respond to and overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. He stated that Vietnam always attaches importance to developing cooperation with WHO to ensure public health.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus commended Vietnam’s policies and efforts in responding epidemics, hoping that Vietnam will actively support the international community in swiftly adopting a global agreement on epidemic prevention and response for the future. He also proposed strengthening cooperation with Vietnam to develop an ecosystem for biotechnology and healthcare.