Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on April 24 met with Sultan of BruneiHaji Hassanal Bolkiah in Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei, onhis visit to the country to attend the 22nd ASEAN Summit.
The two leaders highly valued the fine development of friendship andmultifaceted cooperation between the two countries over the past time,as well as the exchange of high-level meetings.
Dung congratulated Brunei on undertaking the 2013 ASEAN Chair andhighly valued its ties with the country. Brunei has so far invested in192 projects worth nearly 4.9 billion USD, ranking 12th of thecountries and territories investing in Vietnam. Two-way trade hit600 million USD last year, tripling that of 2011.
PM Dung also suggested the two sides speed up negotiations and promptlysign memoranda of understanding on agriculture, fishery and labourcooperation, and an agreement to encourage and protect investment.
He thanked the Brunei Government for receiving and creating allpossible favourable conditions for Vietnamese workers in the country.
The two sides pledged to further strengthen mutualtrust, understanding and the exchange of high-level delegations betweenthe two nations’ ministries and departments.
Thetwo nations will promote links in economics, trade and investment to tapeach side’s potential, meeting the aspirations of the two peoples.
The Brunei Sultan vowed to facilitate links in oil and gas, fisheries and agriculture with Vietnam.
Regarding regional and international issues, the two leaders agreed toincrease exchanges and consultations on issues of common concern,support each other at regional and international forums, particularlywithin ASEAN.
The two sides pledged to closelycoordinate with each other and with other ASEAN members in order tomaintain solidarity, uphold ASEAN’s central role in the regionalprocesses and speed up the building of an ASEAN Community by 2015.
The two sides emphasised the need to ensure peace, stability, maritimesecurity and safety in the East Sea; settle any disputes by peacefulmeans on the basic of respecting international law, particularly the1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea; as well as promoteASEAN’s Declaration on the Six-Point Principles and soon formulate aCode of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).
The10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, known as ASEAN,comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, thePhilippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.-VNA