Hanoi (VNA) – The upcoming visits of Party General Secretary and President To Lam to Mongolia, Ireland and France, and his attendance at the 19th Francophonie Summit once more affirm Vietnam’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation and diversification of relations, proactive international integration, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son.
The Party and State leader and a high-ranking delegation will pay state visits to Mongolia and Ireland, attend the 19th Francophonie Summit and make an official visit to France from September 30-October 7, at the invitation of Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, Irish President Michael D. Higgins and French President Emmanuel Macron, respectively.
The trip also reflects the importance that the Vietnamese Party and State attach to the traditional friendship with Mongolia, the friendship and multi-faceted cooperation with Ireland and the strategic partnership with France, as well as Vietnam’s wish to upgrade and deepen cooperative frameworks in alignment with the new situations in and interests of those countries, Deputy PM and FM Son told the press in an interview on the eve of the leader’s trip.
Son added that through the trip, Vietnam hopes to enhance coordination with countries in addressing regional and world issues, and seek the countries’ continued support for the overseas Vietnamese community.
The Deputy PM said the top leader’s state visit to Mongolia holds special significance when the two countries are marking the 70th anniversary of their diplomatic relationship and their ties are at the best stage of development. The Party General Secretary and President of Vietnam will discuss with Mongolian leaders major orientations and measures to further enhance political trust and promote cooperation in fields of priority, particularly in politics, diplomacy, economy, trade, tourism and people to people exchange.
He noted that Mongolia has given Vietnam strong support both materially and spiritually during Vietnam’s struggle for national liberation. The two countries now also support each other in national construction and maintain close cooperation through Party, State, Government and people-people channels.
With regard to Ireland, Son noted that this is the first state visit since the two countries established diplomatic relationship. He said leaders of the two countries will talk about measures to promote cooperation in areas where Vietnam has demand and Ireland has advantages, such as high-quality investment, science-technology, innovation, digital transformation, energy transition, education-training, especially tertiary education.
The Deputy PM highlighted that Ireland is currently the sixth largest trade partner of Vietnam in the EU, and has made Vietnam a priority recipient of its development assistance, which focuses on education, gender equality, climate change adaptation, support for ethnic minority groups and people with disabilities, and mine clearance. Ireland has granted 250 scholarships for Vietnam under the Irish Aid programme launched in 2009. The two countries are also actively implementing an MoU on cooperation between Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
As for France, based on the special ties and the outcomes of the strategic partnership over the past more than 10 years, the two sides will seek ways to elevate the strategic partnership to a new height with more practical benefits commensurate with the potential and the position of both countries in their respective regions and the world as a whole, according to Son. He said the two sides will work to intensify trade and investment ties, deepen joint work in traditional fields like culture, education, science-technology and local cooperation, while expanding the partnership to new and potential domains such as aerospace, renewable energy, high-tech and digital economy.
He underlined that the political trust between Vietnam and France has been increasingly strengthened, noting that for the first time ever, a French defence minister had attended the 70-year commemoration of the Dien Bien Phu Victory and affirmed the wish to together with Vietnam “shelf the past and look toward the future” for peace, cooperation and development. Son also highlighted that France is one of the leading European partners of Vietnam in tourism, trade, investment and ODA, while carrying out many projects that contribute to Vietnam’s development, modernisation and improvement of living conditions.
He went on to say that Party General Secretary and President Lam will deliver an important speech at the 19th Francophonie Summit, wishing to further spread the message about a proactive and responsible Vietnam that is always ready to join hands with the international community to respond to challenges, contributing to a future of “peace, friendship, solidarity and sustainable development” as targeted by the Francophonie Summit.
The Deputy PM said the cooperation between Vietnam and the Francophone community continues to develop, with the Francophone community viewing Vietnam as a model in socio-economic development and the centre of Francophone activities in the region. He affirmed that Vietnam is among members that are pushing for economic cooperation, particularly in digital economy, in the Francophone space. According to Son, there remains ample room for Vietnam to boost collaboration with the Francophone economic space, especially in economics, trade, investment, education-training, agriculture, sustainable development and science-technology.
The Deputy PM and FM expressed his belief that the working trip of the Party General Secretary and President will be a success and produce important outcomes, contributing to solidifying the foundations of the relationships between Vietnam and Mongolia, Ireland, France and the Francophone community, and at the same time opening up new room and potential in the cooperation with each country, thus developing the relationships in alignment with the new situation./.
