Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Phạm Bình Minh reiterated Việt Nam’s wish to strengthen ties with the UK, the US and Brazil during his separate meetings with the foreign ministers of the countries yesterday.– VNA/VNS Photo Phạm Văn Thắng

Bonn – Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Phạm Bình Minh reiterated Việt Nam’s wish to strengthen ties with the UK, the US and Brazil during his separate meetings with the foreign ministers of the countries yesterday.

UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, in his meeting with Minh, affirmed that his country would keep strengthening multi-faceted co-operation with Việt Nam and continue to support the furthering of relations, connectivity and trade liberalisation between Việt Nam and Europe.

The two sides agreed to coordinate for the effective organisation of activities marking the 45th anniversary of their diplomatic ties in 2018.

Minh asked the UK to increase scholarships for Việt Nam to help with the training of high-quality human resources.

They also discussed international and regional issues of common concern, sharing the view on the importance of maintaining peace, stability, freedom, security and safety of navigation and aviation; protecting the rule of law in seas and oceans; and resolving disputes by peaceful means on the basis of international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

At a meeting with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Deputy PM Minh emphasised that Việt Nam treasures and wants to reinforce the friendship, co-operation and comprehensive partnership with the US on the basis of respect for each other’s political regime, thereby meeting the two peoples’ interests.

The Deputy PM repeated Vietnamese leaders’ invitation to US President Donald Trump to attend the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting and dialogues with businesses in Đà Nẵng this November. He also took this occasion to invite Tillerson to visit Việt Nam in the near future.

For his part, Tillerson also expressed his willingness to visit Việt Nam and participate in activities within the framework of the APEC Việt Nam 2017.

Deputy PM Minh also told Brazilian Foreign Minister José Serra that Việt Nam attached importance to the amity and multi-faceted co-operation with Brazil, which is the biggest Latin American trade partner of Việt Nam.

The two sides agreed to hold the third meeting of the inter-governmental committee and maintain the political consultation between the two foreign ministries.

The two officials also agreed to urge their foreign ministries to work towards the signing of co-operation documents on areas such as double taxation avoidance, shipping, education, agriculture, defence, tourism and investment.

Those documents would create a favourable legal framework for economic, trade and investment partnership, towards the trade target of US$10 billion by 2020, they said.

VN-Spain relations

On the sidelines of the meeting, Minh met with Spanish Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis, during which he voiced Việt Nam’s desire to bolster the strategic partnership between the two countries.

Dastis said that Việt Nam was an important pillar in Spain’s relations in Southeast Asia. 
The two sides agreed to work together on an action plan to boost bilateral co-operation, especially in economics, renewable energy, infrastructure, tourism and hi-tech agriculture. 
Minh asked Spain to support expedited EU approval of the EU-Việt Nam free trade agreement and the bloc’s recognition of Việt Nam as a market economy. 
The two ministers also agreed to step up collaboration at international and regional multilateral forums. 
Earlier, Minh also met with German Foreign Minister Sigma Gabriel and discussed measures to strengthen the Việt Nam-Germany strategic partnership. – VNS