President welcomes Chilean guest

Hanoi (VNA) – President Tran Dai Quang hosted a reception in Hanoi on July 14 for former Chilean President Eudardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle who now serves as Ambassador for the Asia-Pacific region.

President Quang welcomed the Chilean former President’s visit to Vietnam at a time when the two countries celebrate the 45th anniversary of their diplomatic relations and organize the second session of the Vietnam-Chile Free Trade Council.

He praised the important contributions that former President Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle has made to developing the ties between Vietnam and Chile and the cooperation in the Pacific basin, particularly at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and the Forum for East Asia - Latin America Cooperation (FELAC).

The Vietnamese head of State conveyed an invitation to Chilean President Michelle Bachelet to visit Vietnam again.

The President said he was pleased at the establishment and increasingly effective operation of the bilateral free trade council and political consultation at deputy foreign ministerial level.

Highlighting the strong development of bilateral ties across the fields, he noted that political ties between the two countries have become close and trustful, as demonstrated in the exchange of visits and meetings of senior officials at international forums.

On the economic-trade aspect, Chile was the first country in the western hemisphere to sign a bilateral free trade agreement with Vietnam, and also one of the first countries to recognize Vietnam’s market economy.

The two countries have also promoted bilateral affiliation in culture, training, science-technology and people-to-people exchange.

President Quang suggested the two countries increase visits at different levels and improve the effectiveness of bilateral cooperation mechanism, while coordinating to push for the early ratification and enforcement of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.

The two sides should also create favourable conditions for their businesses to access each other’s market as well as the greater market in Southeast Asia and Latin America, he said.

The President proposed Vietnam and Chile should continue to coordinate closely and support each other at international organisations and multilateral forums, particularly the United Nations. He asked Chile to back the Vietnamese candidate for the post of Director General of the UNESCO in the 2017-2021 tenure.

Mentioning issues related to maritime and overflight freedom in the region, President Quang reiterated Vietnam’s stance of dealing with disputes by peaceful measures without the use of or threat to use force, with full respect for diplomatic and legal process in line with international law and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Former Chilean President Eudardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle affirmed that Chile supports the peaceful settlement of disputes with respect for international law.

He stressed that Chile wants to bolster its economic, trade and investment ties with Vietnam, particularly within the new cooperation frameworks such as the TPP, and through which, boost its affiliation with ASEAN countries.-VNA