Manila (VNA) –Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh andPhilippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Lopez Locsin co-chaired the ninth meetingof the Vietnam-Philippines Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation in Manilaon March 6.

At the meeting, both Minhand Locsin highlighted the growingly intensive and trustworthy political anddiplomatic ties between the two countries, which were reflected by contents andoutcomes of visits and meetings at all levels and through Party, State,Government, National Assembly channels and people-to-people exchange.

Both expressed their delight at the enhanced and more practical cooperation innational defence and security via the exchanges as well as sharing ofinformation and experience between the armed forces of the two countries, alongwith regular defence policy dialogues and naval consultations.

The two sides agreed tostep up collaboration in search and rescue operations at sea and the fightagainst terrorists, pirates and cross-border crimes, especially drug-relatedcrimes.

They consented to takemeasures to enhance economic cooperation and create optimal conditions forenterprises of the two countries to strengthen investment and businesspartnerships, aiming to maintain annual two-way trade growth above 20 percent.In 2018, bilateral trade stood at 4.72 billion USD, up 18 percent as comparedwith the previous year, they noted.

The Vietnamese sideaffirmed its willingness to be a long-term and stable supplier of rice withcompetitive prices for the Philippines.

Having acknowledgedgreat potential for tourism cooperation, the two ministers consented to promotemeasures to encourage Vietnamese and Philippine tourists to visit each other’scountry in the time ahead.

They also lauded activeprogress in maritime and oceanic collaboration as well as cooperation inagriculture, information-communications, environment, education-training,culture, sports and people-to-people exchanges.

Regarding regional andinternational issues, Locsin congratulated Vietnam and commended the country’spreparations for the second summit between the US and the Democratic People’sRepublic of Korea (DPRK) in late February.

They meeting was ofgreat significance to building trust and promoting practical peace talks on theKorean Peninsula, he said, stressing that Vietnam has proven its role and activecontributions to regional and international matters.

The two sides alsoagreed to continue their close coordination at multilateral forums and expressedtheir resolve to coordinate with other members of the Association of SoutheastAsian Nations (ASEAN) to enhance intra-bloc solidarity and the grouping’s centralrole in regional security and strategic issues.

Vietnam highlyevaluated and pledged to continue strongly backing the Philippines’ role as a countrycoordinator of the ASEAN-China relations until 2021 while the Philippines sideaffirmed its support for Vietnam’s successful assumption of the ASEANChairmanship in 2020.

The two ministersexchanged in-depth views on and shared their common concern over recentdevelopments in the East Sea.

They emphasised thestrategic significance of ensuring peace, security and safety of navigation andaviation in the East Sea, settling disputes peacefully, practicing restraint,not complicating the situation, not militarizing, respecting international lawand the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 UNCLOS) aswell as legal and diplomatic processes, fully implementing the Declaration onthe Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and soon reaching a practical andeffective Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

At the end of the session,Minh and Locsin signed the minutes of the meeting and an action programmeimplementing the Vietnam-Philippines strategic partnership for 2019-2024. Theyare important documents that serve as a foundation for the two sides tocontinue fostering their cooperative strategic partnership in a more practicaland effective manner, including activities marking the fifth anniversary of thestrategic partnership in 2020 and the 45th founding anniversary ofdiplomatic ties in 2021.

Later the same day,Minh met with President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, who emphasized the importance ofthe Philippines-Vietnam strategic partnership and praised the outcomes of theninth meeting of the committee, considering this as a leading mechanism tocontinuously beef up the bilateral cooperation for the sake of people of both countries.

On this occasion, Minh visitedand presented the Vietnamese President’s second-class Labour Order to theVietnamese Embassy in the Philippines in recognition of its outstandingcontributions to national construction and defence.-VNA