Hanoi (VNA) – Politburo member and standing member of theCommunist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee’s Secretariat Tran QuocVuong had a meeting in Hanoi on August 27 with a visiting delegation of thePhilippine Democratic Party-Power of the Nation (PDP-Laban), led by its VicePresident Alfonso Gaba Cusi.

At the meeting, Vuong lauded the PDP-Laban delegation’s visit,describing it as an important milestone in cooperative relations between theruling parties of Vietnam and the Philippines.

He spoke highly of the outcomes of talks and meetings between thedelegation and relevant agencies of Vietnam, suggesting that in the future, theCPV and PDP-Laban will effectively realise signed agreements, thus helping tostrengthen political trust and create stronger motivation for the developmentof the Vietnam-Philippines strategic partnership.

Vuong and Cusi stressed that Vietnam and the Philippines, twoneighbouring ASEAN countries that share many similarities, have great potentialfor stronger cooperation.

Both Vietnam and the Philippines are peace- and justice-loving nationsand have persisted with peaceful measures in the settlement of disputes in theEast Sea, which is called the West Philippine Sea by the Philippines, on thebasis of international law, especially the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea(UNCLOS) 1982, they said.

Earlier, member of the CPV Central Committee and head of its Commissionfor External Relations Hoang Binh Quan held talks with Alfonso Gaba Cusi.

Quan briefed the delegation on Vietnam’s socio-economic developmentrecently as well as its external policies and international integration, whilesharing the country’s experiences in Party building and personnel training.

He hailed the first visit by a PDP-Laban delegation, considering it a historicaltrip that will promote the practical cooperation between the two parties andcontribute to strengthening the traditional friendship and strategic partnershipbetween Vietnam and the Philippines.

Cusi, who is also Secretary of Energy of the Philippines, hailed Vietnam’ssocio-economic and foreign affairs achievements in recent years.

He said that leaders of the Philippine Government and DPD-Laban alwaystreasure the position of the CPV, and consider Vietnam as a good friend andfriendly neighbour. The Philippines is also keen on developing ties withVietnam across all fields, Cusi said.

As the ruling party of the Philippines, the PDP-Laban hopes to enhancecollaboration and exchange experiences with the CPV, he said.

On the occasion, Quan and Cusi signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperationbetween the CPV and PDP-Laban.

Later the same day, the Philippine delegation also had meetings with DeputyForeign Minister Le Hoai Trung and General Director of the Vietnam Oil and GasGroup Nguyen Vu Truong Son.–VNA