Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính (right) and President of the Philippines Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. held talks on Wednesday in Indonesia on the sideline of the 42nd ASEAN Summit. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

LABUAN BAJO — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính on Wednesday met with President of the Philippines Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr., as the two were attending the 42nd ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia.

PM Chính expressed his joy in witnessing the increasingly flourishing strategic partnership between Việt Nam and the Philippines, adding that he wanted to deepen this cooperation to bring practical benefits to the people and contribute to peace, security, and stability in the region.

The Filipino leader expressed his pleasure in meeting PM Chính again and believed that this meeting was an opportunity to enhance cooperation between the two countries and ASEAN as a whole.

Referring to the recent meeting with Vietnamese President Võ Văn Thưởng in the United Kingdom for the coronation of King Charles III, President Marcos said that the two countries' relationship enjoys a good foundation and he hopes to visit Việt Nam this year to exchange views with Vietnamese leaders on how to push forward the bilateral ties.

Both sides agreed to promote exchanges at all levels, especially at the high levels and between ruling parties, to share experiences and promote people-to-people exchanges.

PM Chính said Việt Nam is ready to supply rice strategically, long-term, and stably at a reasonable price for the Philippines, contributing to ensuring the country's food security.

The two leaders stated their determination to soon bring bilateral trade value to US$10 billion through measures including facilitating market access for each other's key export items, like agriculture products as well as rice, and to deepen cooperation in areas where both sides have potential and strengths such as agriculture, industry, high technology, tourism, marine economic development, education and training, climate change. The Filipino leader appreciated Việt Nam's goodwill, saying that Việt Nam is an important partner of the Philippines and hopes that both sides will promote the role of private enterprises in economic cooperation and investment.

PM Chính conveyed the invitation from General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng and President Thưởng to President Marcos to visit Việt Nam during 2023. — VNS