Kuwait City (VNA) – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had a meeting with Crown Prince of the State of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah in Kuwait City on November 17 as part of his official visit to the Gulf country.
The Crown Prince expressed his pleasure at meeting PM Chinh again after the event in Glasgow, Scotland, on the sidelines of the 26th UN Climate Conference (COP26) four years ago. He welcomed the Vietnamese PM's official visit ahead of the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations, stressing that the visit holds historic significance and will open a new phase of cooperation between the two countries.
The Crown Prince said that Kuwait was proud to be the first country in the Gulf region to establish diplomatic ties with Vietnam, with the two sides having achieved substantial progress over the past five decades. He underscored the importance of holding meaningful activities to mark the 50th anniversary, including organising a Vietnam Day in Kuwait and a Kuwait Day in Vietnam.
Highlighting Vietnam’s reputation as a leading producer of food and agricultural products, the Crown Prince said this sector offers significant potential for cooperation in food security. He expressed his belief that the strategic discussions between Emir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and PM Chinh, the positive outcomes of the talks between the two PMs, as well as the existing bilateral mechanisms, will further deepen bilateral cooperation in the coming period.
PM Chinh affirmed that Vietnam always attaches great importance to and wishes to strengthen substantive and effective cooperation with Kuwait, an important partner in the Middle East. He appreciated Kuwait’s valuable support for Vietnam over the years, particularly its ODA and donation of 600,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine during the most difficult phase of the pandemic.
On this occasion, the PM conveyed greetings and invitations to visit Vietnam from Party General Secretary To Lam and other Vietnamese leaders to the Crown Prince and leaders of Kuwait.
Welcoming the progress in economic and trade ties – with bilateral turnover exceeding 7 billion USD – and noting the substantial untapped potential, PM Chinh proposed that the Crown Prince direct relevant agencies to further promote cooperation in trade – investment, energy – oil and gas, defence – security, science – technology, innovation, digital transformation, labour, and education – training.
He called on Kuwait to support the early launch of negotiations on a Vietnam – Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) free trade agreement and the initiation of talks on a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) between Vietnam and Kuwait. He also proposed negotiating a long-term framework agreement on strategic commodities to ensure Kuwait’s food security and advancing the projects that help develop the Halal ecosystem in Vietnam.
The two sides agreed to make full use of the existing cooperation mechanisms, increase delegation exchanges at all levels – particularly high-level visits, explore the possibility of opening direct air routes, and soon sign a visa exemption agreement for ordinary passport holders to facilitate economic, trade, tourism, and people-to-people links.
PM Chinh encouraged Kuwait’s investment funds and enterprises to expand their operations in Vietnam's potential areas, and called for continued coordination to ensure favourable conditions for the Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Complex, a flagship project symbolising the strategic cooperation between the two countries.
Discussing regional and international issues of mutual concern, the leaders agreed that Vietnam and Kuwait should continue close coordination at multilateral forums and support each other in enhancing Vietnam’s cooperation with the Gulf region and Kuwait’s relations with ASEAN, for the sake of peace, cooperation, and sustainable development.
Concluding the meeting, PM Chinh and Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah expressed confidence that the traditional friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Kuwait will continue to be reinforced and expanded, bringing practical benefits to both peoples and contributing to regional and global peace, stability and prosperity./.
VNA
