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Could you elaborate on the significance of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to three Middle Eastern countries?

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, accompanied by his spouse and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, has successfully concluded his visit to three Middle Eastern nations. This visit marked a significant milestone, underscoring the flourishing relationships between Vietnam and these countries and carrying the following special meanings.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son. Photo: MOFA

First, the visit holds profound importance, reaffirming a new mindset, a fresh strategic vision, and strong determination from Vietnam's leadership to elevate relationships with the three key Gulf nations to a new phase—stronger, more comprehensive, deeply trusted, and offering greater opportunities.

Second, the visit elevated Vietnam's relations with these three nations specifically and with the Middle East-North Africa region in general. The official upgrade of ties with the UAE to a Comprehensive Partnership has opened new horizons for bilateral relations, expanding Vietnam's Comprehensive Partnership network to 13 countries. Moreover, Vietnam's agreements with Saudi Arabia and Qatar to expedite the elevation of ties to a new level have created momentum for comprehensive development in friendly and multifaceted cooperation. This also serves as a lever to strengthen relations with other key partners in the Middle East-North Africa region.

Third, the visit once again demonstrates Vietnam's innovative thinking, strategic vision, strong commitment, and decisive action in fostering multifaceted cooperation with the resource-rich Middle East. It has significantly opened up new markets for Vietnam's export goods and attracted high-quality investments from leading global funds and corporations. Additionally, the visit expanded collaboration in Vietnam's priority areas, such as artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing, clean energy, green transformation, digital transformation, innovation, and the Halal industry. These efforts have delivered tangible and practical benefits for Vietnam's development in the coming years.

What were the key outcomes of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s visit?

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s visit was a resounding success, achieving its set objectives with many significant and substantive results, contributing to the strengthening and enhancement of friendly and cooperative relations with the three Middle Eastern countries.

Here are the key outcomes.

First, during the visit, several important agreements were concluded, including the Joint Statement on elevating Vietnam-UAE relations to a Comprehensive Partnership, a Joint Communiqué between Vietnam and Qatar, and 33 cooperation documents in various fields such as trade and investment, finance, energy, innovation, standards and quality, education and training, sports, and business partnerships. These agreements provide a solid foundation for further promoting comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and the three countries.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (L) and his spouse leave Ha Noi on October 27 for visits to three Middle East countries.

Second, the visit deepened political trust and strengthened the excellent personal relationships between Vietnam's senior leaders and the leadership and royal families of the three countries. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's meetings and engagements with the leaders of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar took place in an atmosphere of sincerity, mutual trust, substance, and understanding. These interactions reaffirmed the determination to advance bilateral relations in a practical, effective, and sustainable manner.

Third, the visit achieved breakthrough results in economic, trade, and investment cooperation. The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the UAE marked Vietnam's 17th free trade agreement, setting a target for bilateral trade to reach US$20 billion in the near future. With Saudi Arabia, both sides agreed to a trade target of US$10 billion and committed to promoting Saudi Arabia as one of the leading investors in Vietnam. With Qatar, both nations agreed to enhance bilateral trade, explore the establishment of a Joint Working Group on Trade, consider building a Vietnam Product Exhibition Center in Qatar, and promote cooperation in finance.

Fourth, the visit created new momentum and opened up numerous opportunities for cooperation between Vietnam and the three countries in various sectors, including emerging and potential fields.

This visit not only reinforces Vietnam’s diplomatic ties with the Middle Eastern countries but also lays a foundation for robust cooperation across diverse and strategic areas.

Could you share how the results of the Prime Minister’s visit will be implemented?

In line with the emphasis on valuing "time" and "wisdom," as highlighted by the Prime Minister, we are committed to pursuing the following priorities.

First, strengthen cooperation across all sectors, including political-diplomatic, defense-security, technology, agriculture, industry, energy, and tourism.

Second, concretize the agreements and commitments made by the senior leaders of both sides. Relevant ministries, sectors, and localities will review signed cooperation agreements, including the CEPA agreement between Vietnam and the UAE, develop specific action plans to ensure timely and highly effective implementation.

Third, continue to improve the investment and business environment to facilitate enhanced cooperation and mutual investment between Vietnamese businesses and those from the partner countries.

I firmly believe that with unwavering determination, the results of the Prime Minister’s visit will be effectively implemented, advancing the comprehensive and deepened friendship and cooperation between Vietnam, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. This will deliver tangible benefits to the people and businesses of both sides, contribute to peace, stability, and development in the region and the world, and propel Vietnam confidently into a new era of national growth and aspiration.

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