The Vietnam-Philippines joint committee needed to convene its sixth meeting soon to effectively deploy the signed agreements and ink a new action plan for the 2011-2014 period, said PM Nguyen Tan Dung.

PM Dung made the suggestion during a meeting with Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III, who was on a State-level visit to Vietnam , in Hanoi on October 26.

The two countries should continue with rice trading contracts, cooperation in fisheries development, stepping up trade and investment relations, and developing science and technology in agriculture, education and training, the PM said.

Vietnam and the Philippines also needed to cooperate closely in international forums, especially in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and the United Nations, he said.

The government leader expressed his wish that Vietnam would receive more support from the Philippines and the President to successfully host the 17 th ASEAN Summit and related meetings.

PM Dung said the Philippine President’s ongoing visit would create a new momentum to further promote the bilateral relationship, as the two nations were celebrating 35 years of their diplomatic ties.

President Aquino congratulated Vietnam on its achievements in recent years, which have helped improve the country’s position and prestige in the international arena.

The president agreed with PM Dung’s proposal to soon hold the 6 th meeting of the joint committee to accelerate the already signed cooperation deals. He promised to make active contributions to the success of the 17 th ASEAN Summit and related meetings.

Aquino affirmed that the Philippines was willing to cooperate with Vietnam in mitigating natural disasters as well as in search and rescue activities.

The two leaders discussed a wide range of specific measures to ensure the success of the visit. They agreed that peace and stability in the East Sea were an interest and aspiration of the regional nations and pledged to work together to foster the implementation of the Declaration of the Conduct of the Parties in the East Sea (DOC) toward building a Regional Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC)./.