Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn (right) and Mongolian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Batsumber Munkhjin had talks on Friday in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo Lâm Khánh

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn hosted a reception in Hà Nội on Friday for Mongolian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Batsumber Munkhjin, who came to Việt Nam to co-chair a political consultation between the two foreign ministries.

Sơn affirmed that Việt Nam always treasures and wants to further develop ties with Mongolia.

He suggested the two foreign ministries work as bridges to urge ministries, sectors and localities of Việt Nam and Mongolia to increase exchanges and effectively implement bilateral and multilateral cooperation agreements, especially in economy, trade and investment, as well as jointly hold celebrations for the 70th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties in 2024.

Munkhjin, for his part, affirmed that the Mongolian Ministry of Foreign Affairs would actively work with the Vietnamese counterpart and agencies concerned to step up bilateral ties effectively as agreed by senior leaders of the two countries.

The same day, Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyễn Minh Vũ and Mongolian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Batsumber Munkhjin co-chaired the 10th political consultation between the two foreign ministries.

Both sides said they treasured and wished to further develop bilateral ties in fields that match each country’s conditions and interests, contributing to maintaining peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.

Vũ suggested maintaining the exchange of delegations and meetings at all levels, and paying attention to bolstering ties via Party and parliamentary channels as well as people-to-people exchanges.

Mongolia considered Việt Nam a major partner in Southeast Asia, Munkhjin said.

He vowed to jointly hold celebrations for the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2024, further improve the efficiency of defence-security ties and create favourable conditions for representative agencies in Việt Nam and Mongolia.

They promised to actively and effectively realise agreements reached at the 18th meeting of the Việt Nam-Mongolia Inter-Governmental Committee for Commercial, Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation held in September 2022.

Vũ stressed that Việt Nam would be a suitable partner to help Mongolia diversify its export-import markets, adding that both sides need to seek opportunities to lift two-way trade in the near future. He also proposed Mongolia assist Việt Nam in sending labourers to work in the country.

The Munkhjin agreed to accelerate talks for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on rice trade between the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Mongolian Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry as soon as possible. He also consented to further boost bilateral educational and cultural cooperation.

On regional and global issues, the two sides shared the view that disputes in the South China Sea must be settled by peaceful measures via dialogue and on the basis of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), not use and threaten to use force, and not have acts to complicate the situation.

The Vietnamese side agreed to help Mongolia strengthen cooperation with ASEAN, APEC and other cooperation mechanisms and frameworks. — VNS