Hanoi (VNA) 𝓰– Deputy Prime Minister andForeign Minister Pham Binh Minh had bilateral meetings with officials from the foreignministries of Romania, Kazakhstan, Spain, Ireland and Bulgaria within theframework of the 14th ASEM Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (ASEMFMM14) in Madrid,Spain on December 16.

At the meeting between Minh and Romanian Foreign Minister BogdanAurescu, the two sides expressed their joy at the fruitful development ofbilateral relations, especially following Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’svisit to Romania in April. They said the traditional friendship and contributions by overseas Vietnamese inRomania and those who studied in the country are the crucial foundations to promotebilateral cooperation. The Vietnamese official called on Romania to continue to receive Vietnameselabourers and create favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community in thecountry to integrate into host society. In his meeting with Kazakhstan’s FM Tleuberdi Mukhtar, the officials agreedthat bilateral relations have flourished, saying the free trade agreementbetween Vietnam and the Eurasia Economic Union, of which Kazakhstan is amember, brings economic benefits to both countries. The two sides pledged to continue coordinating at international and regionalforums, especially when Vietnam and Kazakhstan undertake their roles as chairsof ASEAN and the Conference onInteraction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia, respectively, in2020. Talking to Acting Spanish FM Margarita Robles, Minh congratulated Spain onits successful hosting of the25th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP25) to the UN FrameworkConvention on Climate Change, and the ASEMFMM14. The two sides underlined the need for Vietnam and Spain to maintainpolitical meetings; deepen their economic and trade ties; enhance cooperationin renewable energy, infrastructure, tourism, hi-tech agriculture and environmentalprotection; and make more contributions to fostering ASEAN – European Union relations. Meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart, Ireland’s Deputy PM and FM SimonCoveney affirmed that Vietnam is an important partner of his country in theregion, saying that there is great potential for the two countries to expandcooperation, especially in agriculture, food processing and technology. They underlined their commitment to implementing measures to boost bilateral relations,including enhancing exchanges and establishing an intergovernmental committee oneconomic, trade and investment cooperation. In their meeting, Deputy PM and FM Minh and his Bulgarian counterpart EkaterinaZakarieva discussed ways to strengthen multifaceted relations between the twonations. They agreed to jointly organise activities to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Vietnam-Bulgaria diplomatic ties in 2020. During the meetings, the officials congratulated Vietnam on undertaking itsrole as ASEAN Chair in 2020,and as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in the 2020-2021tenure, affirming their willingness to coordinate with Vietnam within ASEAN,the UN and other regional and global forums. Minh also called on EU members to raise their voice to accelerate the EU’s ratification of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement. On the sidelines of the ASEMFMM14, Minh also had short meetings with foreignministers of Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Poland, the Netherlands,Norway and Slovenia as well as representatives from Switzerland, Croatia andDenmark to discuss specific measures to strengthen bilateral relations andmultilateral coordination within the UN, ASEM and ASEAN./.