Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (R) and Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos (Source: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Tran Dai Quang have asked Romania to continue supporting the just stance of Vietnam and ASEAN in addressing the East Sea issue by peaceful means on the basis of international law, particularly the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982.
They had separate meetings with visiting Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos in Hanoi on July 12.
General Secretary Trong hailed the Prime Minister’s visit as a motivation to intensifying the two countries’ cooperation.
Thanking Romania for its support for Vietnam’s nation-building cause, the Party leader expressed his hope to boost traditional friendship and multi-faceted cooperation with the European nation, especially in economics and defence.
He appreciated Romania for supporting the Vietnamese people living and studying there as well as the collaboration between Vietnam and ASEAN with the European Union.
PM Ciolos emphasised that Romania will do more for its time-honoured friendship and cooperation with Vietnam to grow further.
When meeting with President Quang, Ciolos affirmed that Vietnam is one of the priority partners of Romania in Asia.
Romania sees Vietnam as an example of economic development in the region, Ciolos stated, adding that his visit, therefore, focused on economic, trade and investment cooperation.
The host and guest shared the view that the two countries’ current economic, trade and investment cooperation have yet to meet respective potential and expectations.
Two-way trade has maintained a stable growth at 10-15 percent each year. Trade value reached 175.6 million USD in 2015, of which 102.2 million USD came from Vietnam’s exports.
The Vietnamese leader expressed his hope that Romania will do to speed up the European Union’s signing of the EU-Vietnam free trade agreement (FTA), saying that once implemented, the agreement will help boost economic, trade and investment ties between Vietnam and the EU, of which Romania is a member.
He asked the European nation to soon recognise Vietnam’s market economy status, facilitate the export of Vietnamese goods, and encourage Romanian enterprises to expand investments in the Southeast Asian country.
The guest confirmed that Romania will swiftly ratify the agreement and push for the EU’s official signing of the FTA with Vietnam.
Both agreed that the two countries will back each other in running for a non-permanent member seat of the UN Security Council in the 2020-2021 tenure.
Romania respects international principles and law and supports the settlement of disputes by peaceful measures, PM Ciolos said, hoping that the two nations will coordinate more closely in the issues of mutual concern.
Romania also decided to double its scholarships to 20 for Vietnamese students from 2017, he added.-VNA
