Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Lê Thị Thu Hằng (right) and her Armenian counterpart Mnatsakan Safaryan at the Việt Nam – Armenia political consultation in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Lê Thị Thu Hằng and her Armenian counterpart Mnatsakan Safaryan reviewed the two countries' relations and discussed ways for fostering ties in the time ahead while co-chairing the Việt Nam – Armenia political consultation in Hà Nội on Monday.

Hằng affirmed that Việt Nam always attaches great importance to its traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Armenia, and proposed that the two sides increase meetings and mutual visits at all levels, especially the high level, to help strengthen political trust.

She also called for continued close coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums and international organisations.

Both sides highly valued the role of and close coordination between their foreign ministries in promoting the countries' cooperation, and agreed to maintain the political consultation mechanism on a regular basis while expediting the signing of cooperation documents between the two ministries.

Safaryan congratulated Việt Nam on successfully hosting the signing ceremony of the UN Convention against Cybercrime (Hanoi Convention), highlighting Việt Nam’s active, reliable, and responsible role in addressing global issues.

Sharing his Vietnamese counterpart’s view on the importance of economic cooperation and acknowledging the positive trade results – with bilateral trade reaching US$1 billion, making Armenia the second-largest trading partner of Việt Nam within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), he proposed that the sides effectively implement the EAEU – Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement to create strong momentum and breakthroughs in economic and trade ties.

The two deputy ministers affirmed the importance of their countries’ intergovernmental committee on economic – trade and scientific – technical cooperation, and welcomed the plan to hold its second meeting next year. They also agreed to consider expanding collaboration in defence and security, education and training, culture, science and technology, tourism, and locality-to-locality cooperation.

Exchanging views on international and regional issues of mutual concern, Hằng stated that Việt Nam stands ready to serve as a bridge for cooperation between Armenia and ASEAN. Both officials agreed that disputes should be settled by peaceful means, in accordance with the fundamental principles of international law and the UN Charter.

Regarding the East Sea (internationally known as the South China Sea) issue, they reaffirmed the importance of ensuring freedom of navigation and overflight, and expressed support for resolving disputes through peaceful measures in line with international law, particularly the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). — VNA/VNS