Hanoi (VNA) - Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held a working session wit๊h amba🅰ssadors and staff of the Embassies of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar in Hanoi on December 24 to accelerate the realisation of high-level agreements between Vietnam and the three countries.

PM Chinh spoke highly of the ambassadors and staff's contributions to the success of his recent visits to the three countries, which have created new momentum and breakthroughs in bilateral relations. The PM noted that in the past two years, he visited the UAE and Saudi Arabia twice and became the first Vietnamese Government leader to visit Qatar in 15 years. The visits had delivered a strong message of Vietnam’s determination to foster increasingly substantive, effective and deeper cooperation with these nations for mutual interests and meeting the specific needs of each country. The PM revealed that he had sent letters to leaders of Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, informing them that he has assigned the Minister of Planning and Investment to oversee the realisation of cooperation contents between the Vietnamese Government and the three nations. The Ministry of Planning and Investment will compile and submit a list of prioritised investment projects to the respective parties. As an immediate step, he proposed the establishment of a joint working group to advance this work. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was tasked with facilitating the exchange of all-level delegations, especially the high level ones, accelerating the negotiations of visa exemption agreements with the three countries. Additionally, the Ministry of Industry and Trade was requested to explore the possibility of negotiating Free Trade Agreements (FTA) or Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPA) with Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The Vietnamese ministries, agencies and localities are ready to cooperate with their counterparts, he said. As Vietnam is set to enter an era of prosperity and civilisation, with the Middle Eastern countries being a key focus in its foreign policy, PM Chinh expressed his desire to share a vision and aspirations for national development with them. He suggested mutual learning and cooperation for mutual benefits, aiming to realise national goals and strategies. PM Chinh asked the ambassadors and embassies to promote the upgrade of Vietnam's relations with Qatar and Saudi Arabia to comprehensive partnerships soon and arrange visits to Vietnam by these countries' leaders. He called for coordination to establish a joint working group to facilitate the implementation of high-level agreements aimed at making economic, trade, and investment breakthroughs by boosting market access for goods that the two sides are strong at, including agricultural, aquatic, and Halal products. He also suggested increasing bilateral investment in areas of mutual interest such as agriculture, energy, oil and gas, digital transformation, and green transition, particularly in assisting Vietnam to build international financial centres in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang city. Additionally, the Government leader emphasised the importance of reinforcing cooperation in defence, security, labour, tourism, culture, and education. He also asked for maintaining close collaboration and mutual support in regional and global issues at international forums, especially the United Nations. PM Chinh noted that Vietnam is ready to act as a bridge to help Qatar, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia enhance ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Southeast Asian countries. He expected the three countries will help Vietnam strengthen cooperation with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), expressing his confidence that the ambassadors and embassies will continue to actively contribute to the friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and their countries. Strongly agreeing with the Vietnamese PM, the ambassadors said their countries highly value the significance and outcomes of his recent visits to the three countries, and they are strongly directing the implementation of the deals reached during the trips. In particular, they are working closely with Vietnamese ministries, sectors, and agencies to promote the establishment of a joint ministerial committee with Vietnam to carry out cooperation; identify tasks, programmes, and projects and develop specific implementation plans; and prepare for upcoming high-level visits. Following the PM's visits, many businesses from the three countries have come to Vietnam to explore opportunities for investment cooperation, the diplomats said. The ambassadors affirmed that Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar attach great importance to cooperation with Vietnam, and view it as a gateway to expand ties between ASEAN and the GCC. They noted cooperation activities between Vietnam and their countries are currently very dynamic, expressing their belief that relations between Vietnam and the three countries will be fostered more strongly and substantively to soon achieve all the goals set by both sides./.