Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (left) and his Estonian counterpart (right) (Source: VNA) Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and Estonian counterpart have signed an agreement on double taxation avoidance and the prevention of income tax evasion on the sidelines of the ongoing UN Summit in New York, the US.
FM Minh is also Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam.
Both sides shared view that the signing of this agreement will lay the groundwork for future deals across economics-trade, agriculture, culture, science, education and training.
The two foreign ministries will work together as coordinators to foster Vietnam-Estonia relations, they said.
For her part, Kaljurand expressed Estonia’s support to Vietnam in implementing the Vietnam – EU Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Partnership and Cooperation signed in 2012 and the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (VEFTA) whose negotiations concluded last month.
She also agreed with Vietnam and ASEAN’s position on the peaceful settlement of disputes in the East Sea in line with international law, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea towards formulating a Code of Conduct in the East Sea.
Meeting Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Lucian Aurescu, Minh pushed for the facilitation of high-level visits in order to strengthen mutual understanding, particularly in trade-investment.
He also requested Romania soon recognise Vietnam as a market economy and urge EU member states to approve the VEFTA.
Aurescu vowed to do his best to make Romania one of the first EU countries to approve the VEFTA.
The two ministries are set to convene a meeting of the Inter-Governmental Committee in 2016 to devise specific initiatives for increased collaboration across oil and gas, information technology and shipbuilding.
They debated regional and global issues of shared concern, including the peaceful settlement of disputes at sea, and promised to work closely at international and multilateral forums.-VNA
