Presidents Vo Van Thuong and Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr., along with their spouses, in a joint photo with artists performing at the banquet in Hanoi on January 30 evening. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — President Võ Văn Thưởng and his spouse hosted a banquet in honour of Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. and his spouse, who are on a state visit to Việt Nam, in Hanoi on January 30 evening.

In his remarks, President Thưởng said the first visit to Vietnam by the Philippine President and his spouse, taking place just ahead of the Vietnamese people’s traditional Lunar New Year (Tet) festival, further inspires the confidence in a bright future and new prospects to continue strengthening the sound friendship and cooperation between the two countries, which will celebrate the 10th anniversary of their strategic partnership in 2025 and the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations in 2026.

He expressed his delight that for the last almost 50 years, political trust between the two countries have been nurtured by generations of their leaders at all levels, providing a foundation for them to build up extensive and intensive cooperation with fruitful results in such spheres as politics, diplomacy, economy, defence - security, maritime affairs, agriculture, fisheries, education - training, culture, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges, which is expected to be expanded to new and potential fields.

Since the countries are dynamic economies complementary to each other, he voiced his belief that bilateral trade will reach US$10 billion in the near future.

The Vietnamese leader added he believes the major orientations and measures for further enhancing bilateral ties, along with the documents and agreements reached during the visit, will be carried out effectively and substantively by both sides so that the Vietnam - Philippines strategic partnership will develop more strongly and reach a new height for the sake of the happiness and prosperity of the two peoples, contributing to regional and global peace, stability, cooperation, and development.

As both are active members of ASEAN, President Thưởng held that Việt Nam and the Philippines are connected with each other by shared values, shared vision, and shared determination to work together to surmount challenges of the era and the world while building an independent, self-reliant, and resilient Southeast Asian region and an ASEAN Community of unity and sustainable development.

For his part, President Marcos Jr. shared the view with President Thưởng, saying that the friendship between the two countries over the past nearly 50 years has been tightened by common values of history, culture, and aspirations for development. The two nations have witnessed their political, economic and defence ties, maritime cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges have gradually been deepened. That is a hallmark of the vibrant and profound strategic partnership between the two sides, he said.

He recalled the history of diplomatic relations between the two countries and expressed his delight at the continuous development of the bilateral relationship. In the post-pandemic context, both countries want to have a resilient and adaptive supply chain by increasing two-way trade.

According to the Philippine President, the relationship between the two countries is a testament to the limitless possibilities ahead when they cooperate to build a resilient world and self-reliant nations. On behalf of the Government and people of the Philippines, President Marcos Jr. expressed his thanks to President Thưởng for the opportunity that helped the two countries to reaffirm and promote the bilateral relations.

The Philippine leader believed that after this visit, the bilateral relationship will see a bright future. — VNS