Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng and Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul hold talks in Hà Nội on June 8. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng reaffirmed on Monday that Việt Nam consistently encourages and facilitates foreign investment, including from Thailand, while creating favourable conditions for greater market access for each other's goods, with the goal of raising bilateral trade to US$25 billion in a balanced and sustainable manner.

He was speaking during talks with Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who is on an official visit to Việt Nam and attending the third ASEAN Future Forum (AFF). The talks followed an official welcome ceremony in Hà Nội.

PM Hưng welcomed PM Anutin and the delegation from the Royal Thai Government on his first official visit to Việt Nam. He expressed his pleasure at meeting the Thai leader again following the 48th ASEAN Summit in Cebu, the Philippines.

PM Anutin said he was delighted to be making his first official visit to Việt Nam, particularly as the two countries celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations. He reaffirmed that Thailand attached great importance to its relationship with Việt Nam and wished to further expand comprehensive and substantive cooperation across all sectors.

The Thai leader expressed hope that both sides would effectively implement the outcomes of Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm’s recent official visit to Thailand, including the action programme for implementing the Việt Nam–Thailand Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for the 2026–2031 period.

The two PMs expressed satisfaction with the remarkable development of bilateral ties over the past five decades since diplomatic relations were established in 1976, describing the relationship as being at its strongest and most dynamic stage ever.

Both sides agreed to further strengthen political trust through regular exchanges of delegations and high-level contacts across all channels. They also pledged to make full use of existing bilateral cooperation mechanisms, particularly the Joint Cabinet Retreat and ministerial-level cooperation frameworks, to effectively implement the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in the years ahead.

The two leaders agreed to enhance defence and security cooperation, maintain joint maritime patrols, and strengthen coordination in combating transnational crime, particularly drug trafficking, human trafficking, and cybercrime. They also reaffirmed their commitment not to allow any individual or organisation to use one country's territory to act against the other.

In the economic sphere, the PMs agreed to effectively implement the ‘Three Connects’ Strategy, strengthening connectivity in transport, logistics, aviation and tourism and exploring the development of road and coastal shipping routes linking the two countries and the wider Mekong subregion.

The two sides also agreed to maximise the effectiveness of the Việt Nam–Thailand Joint Trade Committee, reduce trade barriers, facilitate market access for each other's products and work towards achieving bilateral trade of US$25 billion in the near term and US$50 billion in the longer term.

The talks take place during Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s official visit to Việt Nam and his participation in the third ASEAN Future Forum (AFF), held in Hà Nội on June 8–9. — VNA/VNS Photo

They committed to expanding cooperation in agriculture and food security, as well as in emerging sectors such as science and technology, artificial intelligence, digital transformation, the digital economy, the green economy and innovation.

Commending Việt Nam’s favourable investment and business environment, PM Anutin thanked the Vietnamese Government for supporting Thai enterprises operating in the country and expressed hope that such assistance would continue.

He pledged to encourage Thai businesses to expand investment in sectors where Thailand has strengths and that align with Việt Nam’s development priorities, while also welcoming greater Vietnamese investment in Thailand. He stressed the importance of strengthening business connectivity, supply chains and strategic cooperation projects between the two countries.

The two leaders also agreed to deepen people-to-people exchanges and expand cooperation in culture, tourism and local-level partnerships.

PM Hưng thanked the Thai Government for its support for the Vietnamese community in Thailand and called on Thailand to continue creating favourable conditions for Vietnamese citizens living there.

PM Anutin highly appreciated bilateral cooperation under the Red-Crowned Crane Conservation Project at Tràm Chim National Park and affirmed Thailand’s readiness to transfer red-crowned cranes to Việt Nam in support of biodiversity conservation and sustainable development efforts.

Discussing regional and international issues, the two PMs agreed to continue close coordination within ASEAN and other multilateral frameworks. They underscored the importance of maintaining ASEAN unity, solidarity, and centrality, while promoting a common ASEAN position on the East Sea (South China Sea) in accordance with international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

PM Hưng highly valued Thailand’s role in advancing cooperation under the Ayeyawady–Chao Phraya–Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) and other subregional mechanisms. He proposed that the two countries work together to mobilise resources and strengthen cooperation in infrastructure connectivity, trade, investment, water-resource management, climate change response, digital transformation, green transition and innovation.

PM Anutin expressed strong support for Việt Nam’s proposals and pledged to continue working closely to improve the effectiveness of subregional cooperation mechanisms, thereby contributing to sustainable development and shared prosperity across the Mekong region.

The two PMs reaffirmed their determination to effectively implement the agreements reached during the visit, further deepening the Việt Nam–Thailand Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region.

PM Anutin extended an invitation to PM Hưng to pay an official visit to Thailand. PM Hưng thanked his counterpart and said he would arrange the visit at a mutually convenient time. — VNS