Presidents Vo Van Thuong and Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr., along with their spouses, in a joint photo with artists performing at the banquet in Hanoi on January 30 evening (Photo: VNA) In his remarks,President Thuong said the first visit to Vietnam by the Philippine Presidentand his spouse, taking place just ahead of the Vietnamese people’s traditional Lunar NewYear (Tet) festival, further inspires the confidence in a bright future and newprospects to continue strengthening the sound friendship and cooperationbetween the two countries, which will celebrate the 10th anniversaryof their strategic partnership in 2025 and the 50th anniversary of theirdiplomatic relations in 2026.
He expressed his delightthat for the last almost 50 years, political trust between the two countrieshave been nurtured by generations of their leaders at all levels, providing a foundationfor them to build up extensive and intensive cooperation with fruitful resultsin such spheres as politics, diplomacy, economy, defence - security, maritimeaffairs, agriculture, fisheries, education - training, culture, tourism, andpeople-to-people exchanges, which is expected to be expanded to new andpotential fields.
Since the countries are dynamiceconomies complementary to each other, he voiced his belief that bilateraltrade will reach 10 billion USD in the near future.
The Vietnamese leaderadded he believes the major orientations and measures for further enhancingbilateral ties, along with the documents and agreements reached during thevisit, will be carried out effectively and substantively by both sides so that theVietnam - Philippines strategic partnership will develop more strongly andreach a new height for the sake of the happiness and prosperity of the twopeoples, contributing to regional and global peace, stability, cooperation, anddevelopment.
As both are active membersof ASEAN, President Thuong held that Vietnam and the Philippines are connectedwith each other by shared values, shared vision, and shared determination towork together to surmount challenges of the era and the world while building anindependent, self-reliant, and resilient Southeast Asian region and an ASEANCommunity of unity and sustainable development.
For his part, President Marcos Jr. shared the view with President Thuong, saying that the friendship between the two countries over the past nearly 50 years has been tightened by common values of history, culture, and aspirations for development. The two nations have witnessed their political, economic and defence ties, maritime cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges have gradually been deepened. That is a hallmark of the vibrant and profound strategic partnership between the two sides, he said.
He recalled the history of diplomatic relations between the two countries and expressed his delight at the continuous development of the bilateral relationship. In the post-pandemic context, both countries want to have a resilient and adaptive supply chain by increasing two-way trade.
According to the Philippine President, the relationship between the two countries is a testament to the limitless possibilities ahead when they cooperate to build a resilient world and self-reliant nations. On behalf of the Government and people of the Philippines, President Marcos Jr. expressed his thanks to President Thuong for the opportunity that helped the two countries to reaffirm and promote the bilateral relations.
The Philippine leader believed that after this visit, the bilateral relationship will see a bright future./.
