Foreign Minister holds talks with Portuguese counterpart

Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son (R) and his Portuguese counterpart Joao Gomes Cravinho (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) - Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son on January 18 held talks with his Portuguese counterpart Joao Gomes Cravinho, who is on an official visit to Vietnam on January 17 - 19. 

During the talks, FM Son said the visit marks  a new milestone in  cooperative relations between the two countries, contributing to bringing the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Portugal to a new stage of development.

He suggested the two sides work closely to maximise opportunities brought by the EU - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), and foster cooperation in areas that Portugal is strong in and Vietnam needs, such as the marine economy, renewable energy, tourism, and information technology.

He wished that Portugal would create favourable conditions for Vietnamese agricultural products to access the Portuguese market.

He expressed his hope that Portugal will soon ratify the EU - Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), and urge the European Commission (EC) to remove the illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing yellow card warning on Vietnamese seafood products.  

For his part, Cravinho spoke highly of Vietnam's socio-economic development achievements, and the increasingly important role and position of Vietnam in the region and in the world.

He appreciated the potential for economic cooperation between the two countries, and updated Portugal's ratification process of the EVIPA, while affirming that his country will discuss the IUU-related issue with the EC.

The Portuguese FM wished to promote cooperation with Vietnam in the overall policy of Portugal towards the Asia-Pacific region.

He also welcomed FM Son's proposal to establish a tripartite cooperation mechanism on agriculture, while suggesting Vietnam soon complete procedures for Portuguese meat products to be exported to the Vietnamese market.

He also expressed his desire to promote twinning relations between the two countries' localities in order to strengthen people-to-people exchange, including Porto and Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Tri city and Miranda city.

The two sides agreed to strengthen exchange of delegations at all levels and continue to closely coordinate and support each other at multilateral and international forums. They also agreed to promote the role played by the two foreign ministries in order to further expand cooperation, and continue maintaining  the Vietnam - Portugal political consultation mechanism and implementing the Memorandum of Understanding on tourism cooperation signed in 2015. They agreed to step up  cooperation in education - training, sports, culture and tourism, and in responding to global challenges.

The two sides also discussed regional and international issues of common concern. They emphasised the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security, and freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea, and settling disputes by peaceful measures on the basis of international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)./.