Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’sofficial visits to Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Belgium, and attendance inthe ASEAN - EU Commemorative Summit were highly successful, Minister of ForeignAffairs Bui Thanh Son told the media.

In an interview granted to the press, Minister Son said thetour from December 9 to 15 took place amid flourishing relations betweenVietnam and the three European countries. This was the first visit toLuxembourg by a high-ranking leader of Vietnam in 20 years and the first high-leveldelegation exchange with the Netherlands in three years.

During the visits of the Vietnamese PM, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Belgium, which have set upcomprehensive partnerships and strategic partnerships in climate change andsustainable agriculture with Vietnam, have shown the importance they attach to thestature and role of the Southeast Asian nation, along with their determinationto comprehensively step up cooperation.

During the trip, PM Chinh met with most senior leadersof the three countries’ governments, parliaments, and royal families, whohighly valued Vietnam’s socio-economic achievements and growing stature in theworld.

They affirmed the wish to work with Vietnam in promotingcooperative ties in an increasingly substantive and effective manner,sustainably developing the economies after the pandemic, effectively dealingwith international issues, and responding to global challenges, according toSon.

He noted that in each of the three European countries, PM Chinh chairedbusiness forums and had meetings with leaders of regions and major enterprises. Upto 30 cooperation agreements were signed between ministries, sectors, researchinstitutes, and businesses of Vietnam and the three nations.

Vietnam and the three European countries agreed to workclosely and support each other at international forums and organisations suchas the ASEAN - EU cooperation framework, the Asia - Europe Meeting (ASEM), and theUnited Nations, especially when Vietnam, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Belgiumare members of the UN Human Rights Council, so as to contribute to regional andglobal peace, security, cooperation, and sustainable development.

Regarding the East Sea issue, leaders of the three European countriesaffirmed their support for the maintenance of security, safety, and freedom ofnavigation and overflight in the region; the settlement of disputes by peacefulmeans on the basis of international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Conventionon the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS); and the negotiations on an equitable, substantive,and effective code of conduct (COC) in the East Sea between ASEAN and China,the official went on.

Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Belgium also pledged toassist Vietnam in terms of finance, technology, human resources training, and regulationperfection to boost the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, energytransition, and sustainable development.

Son said PM Chinh’s official visits to the three European countriesreaped all-round successes and were important milestones in Vietnam’s relationswith the countries.

With regard to the commemorative summit marking the 45th anniversary of ASEAN - EU relations, he noted it was the first time ASEANleaders had met with all the leaders of EU member nations, which demonstratedthat both sides highly treasure and are strongly committed to fostering theirpartnership. It was also a good opportunity for the two sides’ leaders toidentify important orientations for developing ASEAN - EU ties more strongly inthe time to come.

An outstanding outcome was that the summit issued a jointstatement which emphasised that ASEAN and the EU attach importance to each other’srole and standing; pledge to further solidify their strategic partnership onthe basis of international law and equitable and mutually beneficial cooperation;and will bolster cooperation in economy, trade, supply chain stabilisation, maritimesecurity, connectivity, healthcare capacity building, digital transformation, naturaldisaster management, environmental protection, climate change response, energytransition, and green and sustainable development, according to Minister Son.

The two sides also agreed to enhance multilateralcooperation, share common values and interests, and promote international law,and resolve regional and global challenges.

They stressed the importance of the maintenance of peace,stability, security, safety, and freedom of navigation and overflight in the EastSea, as well as the settlement of disputes by peaceful means. They appealed for the full implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC)and building of an effective and substantive COC that matches international law,including the 1982 UNCLOS, he noted.

At the summit, the Vietnamese delegation led by PM Chinhproactively and actively made important and responsible contributions to theevent’s success, in terms of both summit preparations, discussions, anddocument drafting, the official added./.