PM Pham Minh Chinh’s visit to Brunei spotlighted as testament to close bilateral ties

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (L) and Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah (Photo: VNA)

Brunei media have ran many articles on Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s visit to the country on February 10-11, highlighting the trip as a testament to the strong bilateral diplomatic relations.

The website borneobulletin.com, in its article, described PM Chinh’s visit as a testament to the strong diplomatic relations established between Brunei Darussalam and Vietnam 30 years ago.

It underlined that since joining the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Bandar Seri Begawan in 1995, Vietnam has become one of the fastest growing economies in the region.

Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah lauded Vietnam’s achievements, achievements, including the national digital transformation programme, saying that the signing of an action plan between the two sides aims to further strengthen bilateral cooperation and support preparation to respond to global challenges.

The Sultan of Brunei expressed his satisfaction that despite facing challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the two countries have still maintained their cooperation in the fields of energy supply, production and trade with the two way trade surpassing the target of 500 million USD set in 2017.

Brunei wishes to further develop trade relations with Vietnam, especially through joint ventures operating in the aquaculture sector, to help build the capacity of local industries and ensure food security, he said.

The article quoted Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah saying that the continuing educational partnership between the University of Brunei Darussalam (UBD) and FPT University in Da Nang, as well as the implementation of visa exemption, will bring people closer together as well as facilitate the movement of goods and services.

The Sultan of Brunei thanked Vietnam for supporting his country during its ASEAN Chair term in 2021, showing his hope that the two countries will strengthen cooperation towards an ASEAN Community Vision by 2025.

He congratulated Vietnam on its election to the UN Human Rights Council for the 2023-2025 term, expressing his confidence in Vietnam's contributions to solving human rights issues.

Brunei media also cited Minister of Finance and Economy II of Brunei Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew Abdullah, stressing that Brunei attached importance to its close relations with Vietnam.

He mentioned a great potential to boost economic and trade ties between the two nations.

The minister affirmed that at the regional and international level, the two countries' activities through ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum as well as agreements such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), help increase the access to global markets, encourage rules-based trade and economic activities, and facilitates efficient, persified and flexible supply.

Brunei seeks mutually-beneficial partnerships with countries that it has close ties like Vietnam to ensure prosperity, especially through cooperation projects in key areas and priorities of the country such as oil and gas, food, tourism, information technology - communication and services, he stressed./.