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| Party General Secretary and State President To Lam (R) and Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris at their meeting in Dublin on October 3. (Photo: VNA) |
PM Harris expressed his belief that the top Vietnamese leader’s state visit will create new momentum for the bilateral relations to grow further in the time ahead.
He congratulated Vietnam on its socio-economic achievements over the past time, and shared huge losses caused by Typhoon Yagi to the Southeast Asian nation, pledging to support its recovery efforts. The host leader also affirmed Vietnam is an important partner in the Asia-Pacific.
Party General Secretary and State President To Lam emphasised that Vietnam always attaches importance to and wishes to enhance the friendship and multi-faceted cooperation with Ireland.
The two leaders rejoiced at the pragmatic and effective development of the relationship over the past nearly three decades.
Ireland is an important trade partner of Vietnam in Europe with two-way trade growing constantly over the past years to reach 3.5 billion USD in 2023.
The Irish Government has provided aid packages for Vietnam, helping the country achieve many Millennium Development Goals ahead of schedule, and realise the Sustainable Development Goals.
Progress has been made in cooperation in such areas as education-training, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, electronics, culture, and people-to-people exchange.
To enhance mutual political trust and optimise cooperation potential of both nations, the leaders consented to step up delegation exchanges and meetings at the high level and between ministries and agencies, effectively implement the existing cooperation mechanisms, and consider the establishment of new cooperation frameworks that match the new situation.
Party General Secretary and State President To Lam told hist host that the Vietnamese Government is working on the opening of the Vietnamese Embassy in Ireland.
For economic cooperation, he suggested the two sides continue their close coordination and utilise the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), facilitating the access of their key products to respective markets.
He appreciated Ireland’s incentives to Irish investors in Vietnam in spheres like digital transformation, renewable energy, and high-tech agriculture, and urged the European country to soon complete procedures for the ratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) for the equal and mutually beneficial investment ties between the two countries.
The leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation in ecological agriculture, circular agriculture, sustainable food system transformation, aquaculture, digital transformation, green transition, and climate change response. They also stressed the need to enhance cultural, sport, and tourism exchanges between the two countries.
Party General Secretary and State President To Lam spoke highly of Ireland’s focus on forging relations with Southeast Asia, affirming Vietnam’s readiness to serve as a bridge between Ireland and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). He also suggested Ireland help Vietnam strengthen its ties with the EU.
Host and guest concurred to maintain close coordination at regional and international forums, particularly the United Nations and ASEAN-EU, and boost cooperation in UN peacekeeping operations.
Regarding regional and international security, both expressed their concern over the escalating tensions in the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, calling on relevant sides to exercise restraint, not use force, and hold dialogues to seek peaceful resolutions to the conflicts, for stability, cooperation, and development in the regions and the world.
For the East Sea, they reiterated the importance of peace, stability, safety, security, and freedom of navigation in the waters, and stressed the need to resolve disputes through peaceful means, in accordance with international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
On this occasion, the two sides issued a joint statement on strengthening the Vietnam-Ireland relationship. The document says Lam’s visit is an important milestone, contributing to advancing the relationship to a new height.
The two sides agreed to work for the prosperity and comprehensive development of both countries, and for peace, cooperation and development globally, in accordance with the fundamental principles of international law and the United Nations Charter.
The joint statement also sets out directions for cooperation between the two countries in the fields of politics-diplomacy, security, education-training, trade, investment, and development cooperation, focusing on education, agriculture, socio-economic development in remote areas, and the settlement of bomb and mine consequences.
The leaders then witnessed the signing of an agreement on the establishment of strategic partnership on higher education between the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training and the Irish Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.
Earlier, also within the framework of the visit, the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Irish Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment inked a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in economy, trade, and energy. The Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reached another on cooperation in food system transformation with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine of Ireland./.