Leading the Vietnamese diplomatic delegation, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son attended the opening of the 55th session of The ASEAN Foreign Ministers Conference (AMM-55) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on August 3.

He also had meetings with officials from New Zealand, Canada, and the UK on the sidelines of the 55th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM-55) in Phnom Penh on the same day.

Delegation at the 55th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM 55) (Photo: AKP). The 55th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM 55) and Related Meetings were hosted by Cambodia in Phnom Penh with senior officials of ASEAN member countries. This major Asean event kicked off on July 30 and will continue to August 6 with several meetings already held including the Asean Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM), the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN (CPR), and the SOM Drafting Committee Meeting.

At the meeting between FM Bui Thanh Son and his New Zealand counterpart Nanaia Mahuta, they agreed on the need to increase delegation exchanges and the promotion of annual mechanisms, striving for 20% growth in annual two-way trade to match the bilateral Strategic Partnership. They concurred to recover collaboration in other fields such as education, tourism, tourism, and people-to-people exchange after Covid-19.

FM Son thanked New Zealand for providing 2 million NZD for Vietnam's recovery process.

Mahuta affirmed that New Zealand will maintain the provision of ODA and scholarships to Vietnam and strengthen the country’s cooperation in the Mekong region.

The two sides discussed the orientations of cooperation at the ASEAN forums. Minister Mahuta invited Minister Son to visit New Zealand and co-chair the first Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

At a meeting with Canadian Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion, and International Trade Mary Ng, Son suggested the strengthening of collaboration within regional mechanisms, including the ASEAN, along with support for sustainable Mekong development.

Vietnam hopes for Canada’s assistance in mitigating climate change, and more investment from Canadian businesses.

On the occasion of the 50th founding anniversary of the Vietnam-New Zealand diplomatic relations, the two sides agreed on various measures to further beef up bilateral ties, including increasing high-level meetings, implementing bilateral dialogue mechanisms, and optimizing the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

They also discussed measures to support Canada’s effective engagement in regional cooperation.

FM Bui Thanh Son (left) met wirh British Minister of State for Asia and the Middle East Amanda Milling (Photo: VNA).

Meeting British Minister of State for Asia and the Middle East Amanda Milling, FM Bui Thanh Son discussed how to increase delegation exchanges and further bolster collaboration in climate change response and cooperation in trade and investment, as well as the effective implementation of the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA).

He proposed that the UK support Vietnam in establishing the equitable energy transition partnership with G7, and asked for the UK’s support in green finance, technology transfer, human resources development, and its sharing of experience in governance.

Vietnam hopes for more British investments, especially in renewable energy, finance banking, pharmaceutical, IT, startup, and infrastructure development.

For her part, Milling agreed that these will be prioritized cooperation areas in the time to come.

Also on the afternoon of August 3, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers witnessed the signing ceremony of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) extension document for Denmark, Greece, the Netherlands, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Qatar.

On August 4, the ministers and their counterparts will attend the ASEAN+1 and ASEAN+3 meetings (Photo: VNA).

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