Hanoi (VNA)🏅 – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son held talks with Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs Maris Sangiampongsa in Hanoi on February 24.

Welcoming the Thai FM on his first official visit to Vietnam from February 23-25, Son affirmed that the trip will contribute to promoting extensive cooperation between the two countries as well as between the two foreign ministries in the context of the two countries preparing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations in 2026. Sangiampongsa stressed that Vietnam is one of Thailand's most important partners in the region, and expressed his hope to further strengthen the two ministries’ fine cooperation. The officials consented to continue promoting all-level delegation exchanges, and effectively implementing bilateral cooperation mechanisms, while committing to further intensifying cooperation between the two ministries, including considering the establishment of a communication channel between their specialised units to discuss issues of mutual concern. They also supported enhancing bilateral defence and security collaboration and agreed to collaborate in combating transnational crimes and cybercrime, as well as preventing fraudulent organisations from sending people to third countries for work. They reaffirmed their pledge not to allow any individual or organisation to use one country's territory to act against the other. Regarding economic, trade, and investment cooperation, the ministers agreed to work together to soon raise two-way trade to 25 billion USD by facilitating the trade of goods, expanding market access in each country, and limiting the application of trade remedy measures on each other’s goods. They also reached consensus on strengthening cooperation in new fields such as digital economy, e-commerce, and green energy. Both sides agreed on the need to coordinate efforts to maximise the benefits of the Three Connectivity Strategy by effectively implementing initiatives related to supply chain connectivity and business-locality partnerships, and connecting each country’s sustainable growth strategies. The two sides also backed the effective utilisation of road and waterway transport routes, increasing the number of flights connecting the two countries, and exploring measures to enhance tourism cooperation, including Thailand's Six Countries, One Destination initiative. They agreed to promote collaboration in education, agriculture, culture, and people-to-people exchanges. On this occasion, Son thanked the Thai Government for supporting the establishment of the Vietnam Street in Udon Thani province and the upcoming formation of another in Nakhon Phanom province. He proposed the two sides continue encouraging Thai and Vietnamese language teaching programmes in both countries and the development of cooperative and twinning relationships between their localities. Regarding regional and international cooperation, they affirmed their commitment to maintaining close coordination at multilateral and regional mechanisms; and agreed to work with other ASEAN countries to strengthen solidarity and unity, and promote the bloc’s centrality, prioritise subregional development cooperation in mainland Southeast Asia, and manage and use Mekong River water resources sustainably. Both emphasised the importance of maintaining peace, stability, safety, and security of navigation and overflight in the East Sea based on international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)./.