Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese State President Luong Cuong and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayaka met with the press to inform the outcomes of their talks in Hanoi on May 5 morning, during which they committed to promoting bilateral cooperation in a more open and breakthrough direction.

President Cuong said that they had effective and successful talks in the spirit of openness, sincerity, and friendship, during which they reaffirmed the policy of treasuring the long-standing traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries.

The two sides agreed to increase meetings at high and all levels, through the Party, State, Government, National Assembly channels as well as people-to-people exchanges; and continuously consolidate political trust with the aim of bringing the bilateral relationship to a new height in the future. They pledged to strengthen cooperation in areas such as peacekeeping, maritime security, prevention and combat of transnational crimes, response to traditional and non-traditional security challenges; and contribute to protecting the national security interests of each country, and to peace, stability and development in the region and the world.

Noting that Vietnam and Sri Lanka still have great potential in economic, trade and investment collaboration, the two leaders vowed to take stronger measures to increase two-way trade and investment, aiming for bilateral trade turnover of 1 billion USD, and considering the possibility of negotiating and signing a bilateral free trade agreement when conditions permit.

The Vietnamese President shared that he agreed with his Sri Lankan counterpart on continuing to prioritise and expand cooperation in other important areas such as agriculture, tourism, education, information and communications, cultural exchanges, and Buddhism; as well as on encouraging airlines of the two countries to open direct flights to further facilitate people-to-people exchanges, and economic and tourism ties.

In addition, the two sides also reached consensus on strengthening coordination and supporting each other at multilateral forums, especially the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement, while reaffirming the importance of maintaining peace and stability, ensuring security, safety, freedom of navigation and aviation, and peacefully solving disputes on the basis of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Vietnam welcomed and supported Sri Lanka to cooperate more strongly and practically with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

President Cuong expressed his belief that the Vietnam - Sri Lanka relationship will develop more deeply and strongly, making an important contribution to the socio-economic development of each country, bringing practical benefits to their people, and contributing more to peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world.

For his part, President Dissanayaka expressed his honour to make his first state visit to Vietnam, affirming that this is an important milestone in consolidating the long-standing friendship and cooperation in all fields, on the basis of the solid foundation of 55 years of diplomatic relations and many centuries of shared cultural and religious exchanges.

Positively assessing the results of his talks with President Cuong, the Sri Lankan leader said that the two sides agreed on a comprehensive roadmap to elevate the bilateral relations to a new level, including commitments to enhance political dialogue, deepen economic cooperation and enhance people-to-people connection.

Agreeing on the importance of promoting trade and investment ties, especially in the context of current global economic fluctuations, he shared that the two sides also vowed to strengthen business links, facilitate trade exchanges and review important agreements such as the Bilateral Investment Protection Agreement and the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement. The Sri Lankan side showed its hope that Vietnamese businesses will invest in such areas as agriculture, renewable energy, electronics, manufacturing, logistics, infrastructure, hospitals, pharmaceuticals and tourism.

President Dissanayaka a𝄹lso briefed the press on his meetings with Party General Secretary To Lam, and other key leaders of Vietnam, affirming that these meetings will certainly further consolidate the strong friendship between the two countries, which has developed into an important partnership spanning many essential areas of cooperation./.