Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son on August 3 joined other Foreign Ministers in a courtesy visit to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on the sidelines of the 55th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM-55) taking place in Phnom Penh, VOV reported.

Vietnamese FM Bui Thanh Son (L) pays a courtesy visit to Cambodian PM Hun Sen. Photo: VOV

PM Hun Sen welcomed the Foreign Ministers, wished the AMM-55 meeting a success and at the same time shared some thoughts about ASEAN’s future development orientations.

The FMs thanked Cambodia for hosting the meeting and affirmed that their countries support Cambodia in fulfilling its role as ASEAN Chair 2022.

Earlier, FM Bui Thanh Son met with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn, who is chairing AMM-55.

The two sides exchanged measures to successfully organize meetings and conferences to be held in Cambodia this year. Son stressed that Vietnam always supports and hopes that Cambodia will well perform its ASEAN Chairmanship role in 2022.

The two FMs also exchanged views on measures to promote the long-standing friendship and all-round cooperation between the two countries.

They agreed to strengthen this relationship, by maintaining and promoting the exchange of delegations, high-level contact and other comprehensive cooperation mechanisms. They vowed to achieve the goal of raising two-way trade turnover to US$10 billion this year,

The two sides agreed to organize events within the Vietnam - Cambodia Friendship Year 2022 to celebrate 55 years of bilateral relations. They stressed the need to connect the two economies, and further strengthen cooperation in defense, security, agriculture, education and training, tourism and people-to-people exchanges.

The same day, Foreign Minister Son also had meetings with officials from New Zealand, Canada and the UK, according to VNA.

FM Son (L) and his New Zealand counterpart Nanaia Mahuta. Photo: VNA

FM Son and his New Zealand counterpart Nanaia Mahuta 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, people-to-people exchange after Covid-19.

FM Son thanked New Zealand for providing NZD 2 million (US$ 1.2 million) 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 ASEAN forums. Minister Mahuta invited Minister Son to visit New Zealand and co-chair the first Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

At the meeting with Canadian Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion, and International Trade Mary Ng. Photo: VNA

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 optimising the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

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

FM Son (L) meets British Minister of State for Asia and the Middle East Amanda Milling. Photo: VNA

At Son's meeting with British Minister of State for Asia and the Middle East Amanda Milling, the two sides agreed 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).

The Vietnamese FM 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 prioritised cooperation areas in the time to come.

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

The ministers and their counterparts on August 4 will attend the ASEAN+1 and ASEAN+3 meetings.

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