Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha and his spouse hosted an official welcome ceremony for President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, his wife, and the high-ranking delegation at Government House in Bangkok on the afternoon of November 16.
President Phuc is the first senior foreign leader to visit Thailand prior to the 29th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting. This is his first visit to the country in his capacity as State President and also the first trip by a senior Vietnamese leader since the 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the COVID-19 pandemic.
President Phuc affirmed that Vietnam always attaches great importance to promoting the enhanced strategic partnership with Thailand.
He congratulated Thailand on its success as Chair of APEC Year 2022 and affirmed that Vietnam will do its best to contribute to the success of the upcoming meeting.
The two leaders expressed their appreciation of the strong and dynamic development of bilateral relations in all fields.
They pledged to strive to bring two-way trade to the targeted 25 billion USD soon and to make it more balanced.
The two sides agreed to continue promoting the enhanced strategic partnership in order to contribute to the socio-economic strength of both countries.
Discussing regional and international issues of mutual concern, the two leaders affirmed they will work together to promote a united and resilient ASEAN and promote its central role, and to maintain ASEAN’s common stance on the East Sea, thereby emphasising the importance of ensuring peace, stability, safety, security, and freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea on the basis of respect for international law.
Following the talks, President Phuc and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha witnessed the signing of cooperation documents, including an action programme implementing the enhanced strategic partnership in the 2022-2027 period and an agreement on mutual legal assistance in civil matters./.
