Manila (VNA) – Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung bilaterally met with his counterparts from Panama, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Qatar, as part of the 59th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM-59) and related meetings in Manila, the Philippines on July 24.
During his meeting with Panamanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Javier Eduardo Martínez-Acha Vásquez, important gains from more than five decades of ties were welcomed, with two-way trade climbing steadily to 474 million USD in 2025 from 364 million USD in 2015.
The Panamanian minister praised Vietnam's development record after its struggle for national independence and reunification, calling Vietnam a key Asia-Pacific partner for Panama.
The two ministers agreed to facilitate the exchange of all-level delegations, coordinate preparations for upcoming high-level visits, and expand cooperation in promising areas, including trade, agriculture, investment promotion and protection, maritime affairs, aviation, telecoms, customs, tourism, language training and the fight against transnational crime. They also vowed to strengthen links among agencies, associations and enterprises to identify new collaboration opportunities matching their needs and strengths.
Trung commended close coordination at multilateral forums, particularly the United Nations (UN), and affirmed Vietnam’s readiness to act as a bridge for stronger Panama-ASEAN and Panama-Southeast Asia ties.
Martínez-Acha Vásquez welcomed Vietnam’s growing role and standing within ASEAN and backed tighter links between Vietnam and the Organisation of American States and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.
Both sides agreed to work toward a successful second Vietnam–Panama Political Consultation, set for July 27-29 in Vietnam, to review cooperation and map out ways to deepen the partnership.
In their separate meeting, Trung and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel spoke highly of positive momentum in bilateral ties, particularly since the 2023 establishment of the Vietnam–Luxembourg Strategic Partnership on Green Finance. They affirmed a push to deepen the partnership through more delegation exchanges, stronger people-to-people ties and closer business connectivity.
Trung highlighted Vietnam's efforts to overcome the legacy of war, navigate difficult periods and achieve significant gains in economic growth, poverty reduction, and international integration.
He also outlined Vietnam’s 2030 development goals and 2045 vision, flagging sci-tech, innovation, digital transformation and green growth as key drivers of the new growth model. He thanked Luxembourg for its invaluable support during Vietnam’s difficult years, calling it a bedrock of bilateral friendship and trust.
Bettel said he is impressed by Vietnam’s robust economic expansion and poverty reduction gains. Luxembourg is proud to have accompanied Vietnam through challenging periods and looks forward to contributing to the country's next growth stage, he added.
The two sides agreed that financial cooperation should remain a key pillar of ties, with priority given to green finance, sustainable finance, banking, capital markets, securities and tax administration. They welcomed the completion of a draft memorandum of understanding between the finance ministries and agreed to move toward signing, while pledging to boost experience sharing, workforce training, capacity building and cooperation among financial institutions, investment funds, stock exchanges and business communities.
Trung suggested Luxembourg leverage its strengths as a global financial centre to support Vietnam's green transition, capital market development, financial governance and policy frameworks on taxation and securities. Both sides also promised stronger coordination at the UN and other multilateral forums, and closer Luxembourg-ASEAN ties.
Meeting Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Tom Berendsen, Trung thanked the Netherlands for its decades of support, notably in education and training, highlighting the Hanoi-Amsterdam High School for the Gifted as a lasting symbol of friendship and education cooperation. He expressed hope that the Netherlands would expand training courses, academic exchanges and quality workforce upskilling for Vietnam.
Berendsen commended Vietnam’s development achievements, noting that political and social stability and an increasingly comprehensive legal framework are key advantages for attracting quality investment, including from Dutch and European companies.
The ministers agreed to intensify all-level delegation exchanges, especially at high level, and coordinate preparations for the ninth meeting of the Vietnam–Netherlands Inter-Governmental Committee on Climate Change Adaptation and Water Management in Vietnam. Trung urged the Netherlands to ratify the EU–Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement early to facilitate economic, trade and investment ties.
They underscored strong potential in semiconductors and high technology, agreeing to promote a bilateral framework covering chips, quality technical workforce training, research and development, and innovation ecosystem connectivity. They also discussed prospects for deeper joint work involving Vietnam’s National Innovation Centre, Viettel, ASML, and Dutch enterprises and research and educational establishments.
Meeting Qatari Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sultan bin Saad bin Sultan Al-Muraikhi, Trung once again conveyed condolences from Vietnam’s high-ranking leaders and his own sympathy to Qatari State, Royal family and people following the passing of former Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.
The two sides vowed to facilitate all-level visits and exchanges to inject new momentum into bilateral ties while expanding investment and cooperation in areas matching each country’s strengths and development priorities.
On the Middle East, Al-Muraikhi shared the severe humanitarian and economic toll of prolonged conflicts on the region. Trung said that as a country that endured decades of war, Vietnam fully understands the value of peace, stability, dialogue and cooperation. He wished that disputes would be settled peacefully in line with international law and lauded Qatar’s responsible mediation efforts to ease tensions, promote dialogue and advance peaceful solutions./.
