Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung suggested that Vietnam and Armenia establish an inter-governmental committee on economic-trade and scientific-technological cooperation at a meeting with his Armenian counterpart Hovik Abrahamyan on May 29.

The meeting took place on the fringe of the signing ceremony for a free trade agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union, which groups Armenia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Russia and Kyrgyzstan, in Kazakhstan.

PM Nguyen Tan Dung said Vietnam always appreciates Armenia’s support to its national liberation and development, adding that generations of Vietnamese people studying in Armenia have been contributing greatly to their homeland’s national construction.

He continued to say that ministries and sectors of the two countries need to coordinate closer to make substantive improvements in their cooperation, especially when the FTA officially takes effect.

The two leaders agreed to focus efforts on building implementation mechanisms for the trade deal with a view to optimizing incentives offered by the deal to boost trade-economic ties, while continuing to improve legal frameworks for bilateral collaboration.

The Vietnamese PM specifically stressed the need to resume bilateral partnership in education-training which is a traditional cooperation area and urged the signing of an inter-governmental agreement on this field.

Both sides agreed to strengthen ties by exchanging delegations and organising workshops so as to build specfic cooperation programmes in the near future.

Touching upon the East Sea issue, the two PMs underlined the importance of sustaining peace, stability, and maritime and aviation security and safety in the waters, and voiced their support of the peaceful settlement of disputes in line with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.-VNA