State President Lương Cường met with Sultan of Brunei Darussalam Hassanal Bolkiah. — VNA/VNS Photo Lâm Khánh

LIMA – State President Lương Cường met with Sultan of Brunei Darussalam Hassanal Bolkiah on November 14 (local time) on the sidelines of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week in Lima.

Cường conveyed warm greetings from Party General Secretary Tô Lâm, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính, and National Assembly Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn to the Brunei leader.

Expressing their satisfaction at the effective development of the Việt Nam-Brunei comprehensive partnership, the two leaders agreed to work closely to make the bilateral relations develop in a deeper fashion, benefiting the two peoples while contributing to building a strong, resilient, and sustainable ASEAN community.

Looking ahead, they concurred to continue promoting exchanges and contacts at all levels and to maintain the effective implementation of the bilateral cooperation mechanisms. They were also unanimous to effectively carry out the action programme for the Việt Nam – Brunei comprehensive partnership for the 2023-2027 period and strengthen collaboration across all domains, particularly in the four priority areas agreed by the high-ranking leaders of both sides, namely oil and gas, chemicals, Halal food processing, and tourism and people-to-people exchange.

President Cường affirmed Việt Nam's commitment to facilitating Brunei's business investments and called on Brunei to support Vietnamese firms with production processes, grant certifications for Vietnamese agricultural and Halal products, and create favourable conditions for Vietnamese Halal goods to enter Brunei’s market and integrate into the global Halal supply chain.

The Sultan of Brunei agreed to enhance cooperation with Việt Nam in crucial areas like maritime collaboration, including considering the extension of the Memorandum of Understanding on the fisheries hotline and facilitating fishing permits for Vietnamese vessels in Brunei's waters.

Both leaders underscored the significance of maintaining ASEAN's solidarity, unity, and centrality in the region and bolstering cooperation in regional and international issues of mutual concerns. Brunei affirmed its support for Việt Nam's hosting of the 2nd ASEAN Future Forum (AFF) in 2025 and APEC chairmanship in 2027.

Regarding the East Sea issue, they emphasised the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security, safety, and freedom of navigation and overflight in the waters and settling disputes by peaceful means and in accordance with international laws, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. They agreed to continue close coordination to maintain solidarity, consensus, and the outcomes that ASEAN has obtained in the issue.

In closing, the Sultan expressed his expectation for his upcoming visit to Việt Nam and invited President Cường to visit Brunei soon. — VNS