PM Lê Minh Hưng speaks to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos. — VNA/VNS Photos

CEBU — Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng affirmed Việt Nam’s support for the Philippines in successfully assuming the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2026, contributing to ASEAN unity, solidarity and centrality.

He made the statement during a meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday in Cebu ahead of the official opening of the 48th ASEAN Summit.

President Marcos congratulated and welcomed Prime Minister Hưng on attending the ASEAN Summit for the first time in his capacity as Vietnamese Prime Minister.

He highly appreciated the positive progress in the Strategic Partnership between the Philippines and Việt Nam in recent years and expressed hope that the two sides would continue to promote more substantive and effective comprehensive cooperation in the years ahead.

Expressing gratitude for the Philippines’ warm and cordial reception, Prime Minister Hưng emphasised that 2026 holds special significance as the two countries celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations.

He affirmed that the Vietnamese Government always values and seeks to further strengthen the Việt Nam–Philippines Strategic Partnership.

President Marcos thanked Việt Nam for its active coordination during the Philippines’ ASEAN chairmanship, saying that the Phillipines wished to work closely with Việt Nam and other ASEAN member states to further enhance intra-regional economic and trade cooperation while maintaining an environment of peace, stability and development amid growing global uncertainties and challenges.

President Marcos said the two countries still have significant room and potential for cooperation in such areas as economy, trade, security-defence, tourism and people-to-people exchanges.

He also expressed hope for more direct flights between cities in the two countries and highly appreciated the joint organisation of activities marking the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties in 2026.

The two leaders agreed to promote several key pillars of cooperation within the Strategic Partnership, giving high priority to high-level and all-level delegation exchanges.

They also vowed to facilitate trade to raise bilateral trade turnover to US$10 billion and strengthen cooperation in food security, energy security and marine scientific research.

The leaders pledged to expedite negotiations and sign agreements on general education cooperation and the 2026–2029 tourism cooperation programme.

They agreed to continue supporting each other at multilateral forums and to work together with ASEAN member states and China to advance negotiations on an effective and substantive Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea, in accordance with international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

On the same day, PM Hưng held separate meetings with Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, Timor-Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and President of the Asian Development Bank Masato Kanda.

Congratulating PM Hưng on his new position, Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah expressed his desire to work closely with him to further promote the Việt Nam–Brunei Comprehensive Partnership more substantively and effectively in the coming period.

PM Hưng proposed that the two sides effectively and substantively implement the 2023–2027 Action Programme for the Việt Nam–Brunei Comprehensive Partnership, strengthen economic and trade cooperation and consider establishing a joint committee mechanism on trade cooperation.

He also proposed that both sides step up cooperation in fisheries and seafood exploitation.

Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah affirmed Brunei’s support for Việt Nam in successfully hosting APEC Year 2027.

Brunei stands ready to cooperate with Việt Nam in areas of mutual strength and shared interest, he said.

In talks with Timor-Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão, PM Hưng congratulated Timor-Leste on attending the ASEAN Summit for the first time as an official member and affirmed that Việt Nam stands ready to support Timor-Leste’s full integration into the regional cooperation process.

Affirming his desire to further strengthen multifaceted cooperation with Việt Nam, particularly in trade, investment, telecommunications, education and training, PM Xanana Gusmão highly praised the Telemor project implemented in Timor-Leste by Viettel Group, describing it as a symbol of effective cooperation between the two countries and a positive contributor to Timor-Leste’s socio-economic development.

PM Lê Minh Hưng greets Timor-Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão.

PM Hưng said Việt Nam stands ready to share its experience with Timor-Leste in economic development, policy formulation and providing credit support for small and medium-sized enterprises.

During a meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, both sides agreed that bilateral relations have continued to record substantive progress in recent years, marked by vibrant exchanges of delegations at all levels.

Key highlights included Party General Secretary Tô Lâm’s state visit to Cambodia and his co-chairing of the high-level meeting between the Politburos of the Communist Party of Việt Nam and the Cambodian People’s Party in February 2026, as well as the official visit to Cambodia by Permanent Member of the Party Central Committee Secretariat Trần Cẩm Tú in April 2026.

The two prime ministers stressed that defence-security cooperation remains a key pillar of bilateral ties, while economic cooperation continues to be a bright spot, with two-way trade turnover in the first quarter of 2026 reaching nearly $3.5 billion, up 6.5 per cent year-on-year.

Building on these achievements, the two sides agreed to continue close coordination, strengthen delegation and people-to-people exchanges and effectively implement bilateral agreements and cooperation mechanisms.

PM Lê Minh Hưng at a meeting with his Cambodian counterpart Hun Manet.

They reiterated the principle of not allowing hostile forces to use one country’s territory to undermine the security and interests of the other, emphasising that the political security of one country contributes to the stability, security and development of the other.

Emphasising the importance of maintaining a peaceful, stable, cooperative and sustainably developed border, both sides reiterated their commitment to appropriately and promptly addressing emerging issues, including coordination in sustainably protecting the border environment.

During the meetings, PM Hưng and ASEAN leaders also exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual concern, agreeing to strengthen cooperation and coordination within ASEAN and the United Nations while promoting ASEAN centrality in addressing regional and global issues.

PM Hưng also cordially invited ASEAN leaders to attend and speak at the third ASEAN Future Forum, scheduled to be held in Hà Nội in early June 2026. — VNS