Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (Source: VNA) Duringthe meeting with Philippine Acting Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo,the two officials spoke highly of the time-honoured and close cooperationbetween Vietnam and the Philippines.
Theyagreed to promote high-level visits as well as a ministerial-level meeting ofthe Joint Committee for Bilateral Cooperation this year, and enhancecooperation in marine issues, including fighting piracy.
Meetingwith Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman, the two ministers discussedmeasures to boost bilateral ties and speed up the organisation of the sixthsession of the Vietnam-Malaysia Joint Committee for Economic, Scientific andTechnological Cooperation as well as the implementation of already signedagreements.
Minhurged Malaysia to fairly judge the case related to Vietnamese citizen Doan ThiHuong and ensure her legitimate interests.
Whilemeeting with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, the two sides agreed toincrease high-level visits and accelerate negotiations on the demarcation ofthe exclusive economic zones in waters, where the two nations alreadydemarcated the continental shelves.
Theyconsented to effectively implement the outcomes of the seventh session of theVietnam-Indonesia Joint Committee for Economic, Scientific and TechnologicalCooperation in a bid to reach 10 billion USD in two-way trade value by 2018.
Thesides also agreed to enhance cooperation to maintain ASEAN’s central role andunity as well as peace and stability in the East Sea. They stressed the need tocontinue working together closely in ASEAN to finalise a Code of Conduct in theEast Sea (COC) and ensure its effective enforcement.-VNA
VNA
