Singapore, (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phucheld bilateral meetings with Indonesian President Joko Widodo and MyanmarPresident Win Myint on April 28 on the sidelines of the 32nd ASEAN Summit in Singapore.

The Vietnamese PM and President Joko Widodo shared the joyover the mutual trust and close ties between the two countries in the frameworkof their strategic partnership. They welcomed the outcomes of the third sessionof the Vietnam – Indonesia Bilateral Cooperation Committee at foreign ministeriallevel in Hanoi on April 17, which outlined the major directions for bilateralcooperation across the fields, including pushing for the completion by the endof this year of a plan of action for the bilateral strategic partnership in2019-2023, so that it can be implemented at the beginning of 2019.

The two leaders stressed the need to work for the target of10 billion USD in bilateral trade and assigned relevant agencies to conductnegotiations and sign agreements necessary for achieving the target as early aspossible.

President Widodo welcomed measures suggested by PM Phuc tobolster bilateral cooperation, including the signing of agreements on trade,agro-fisheries, defence-security and anti-crime. 

PM Phuc thanked Indonesia for its active cooperation withVietnam in returning Vietnamese fishermen, and asked Indonesia to continuehandling the issue in line with the ASEAN spirit of friendship, humanitarianismand solidarity as well as the Vietnam-ASEAN strategic partnership.
 
The Indonesian President thanked Vietnam for its support of Indonesia’sinitiative on organizing a meeting of ASEAN leaders on the sidelines of the AnnualMeetings 2018 of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) slatedfor October 11 this year in Bali, Indonesia. He repeated an invitation to PMPhuc to attend the Meetings.

The two leaders also discussed several international andregional issues of mutual concern, including mutual support regarding mattersrelated to the regional architecture, non-conventional security issues,cooperation and security on the East Sea and regional waters, the fight againstpirate and crime, and illegal fishing.

They agreed to continue coordinating stance at regional andinternational forums, especially in the ASEAN.

Talking to the Myanmar President, PM Phuc affirmed thatVietnam supports the Myanmar Government in the process of nationalreconciliation and harmony.

The two leaders expressed satisfaction about the traditionalfriendship between the two countries during the past over 40 years since theestablishment of diplomatic ties in 1975. They agreed that the elevation ofbilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership on the occasion of theState visit to Myanmar by General Secretary of the Communist Party of VietnamNguyen Phu Trong had turned a new page in their cooperation.

They shared the view that bilateral political ties had growncloser through maintaining high-level exchanges and contact, while economic,trade and investment ties have deepened with Vietnam having become the 7th biggestforeign investment in Myanmar and the 11th biggest trade partner of Myanmar.

Bilateral cooperation in security-defence has beenstrengthened, meeting the needs of both sides, and the expansion of cultural,sport, educational linkages and people-to-people exchange has contributed toenhancing mutual understanding and the traditional friendship between the twocountries. ,

PM Phuc said the two sides should act to implement theoutcomes achieved during the recent official visit to Vietnam by Myanmar State CounsellorAung San Suu Kyi. He also asked the Myanmar Government to create favourable conditionsfor businesses of both countries to expand links and for Vietnamese firms toinvest in Myanmar.

President Win Myint pledged that the Myanmar Governmentwould adopt open policies to attract foreign investment, including investmentfrom Vietnam, and urged more Vietnamese companies to invest and do business inMyanmar.

Regarding regional and international issues, the two sidesaffirmed their intention to coordinate closely within ASEAN to consolidateintra-bloc solidarity and promote ASEAN’s central role. They agreed to continuecooperating closely with each other and with other countries in the frameworkof the Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam (CLMV) mechanism and the Ayeyarwady-ChaoPhraya-Mekong Economic  Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS).

They shared the common stance of ASEAN on effectivelyimplementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC)and striving for the early completion of an effective and legally-binding Codeof Conduct (COC).

Later the same day, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his entourageleft Singapore, concluding his trip for an official visit to the country and toattend the 32nd ASEAN Summit at the invitation of Singaporean PM Lee HsienLoong.-VNA