The host spoke highly of the visit on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties and thanked Vietnam for its support to the organisation of “Thai Cultural Days in Vietnam”.
Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam and Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha
|
For his part, Deputy PM Dam reiterated Viet Nam’s consistent policies which respect the strategic partnership with the Kingdom of Thailand and thank the Thai Government for creating favorable ways for the overseas Vietnamese community there.
Earlier, at a working meeting with his Thai counterpart Thanasak Pratimaprakorn, Deputy PM Dam suggested Thailand support overseas Vietnamese guest workers and proposed the early release of fishermen arrested recently. Both sides expressed their delight at the fine bilateral relations in all fields.
Deputy PM Thanasak Pratimaprakorn hailed the significance of the visit as the two countries are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the diplomatic ties (August 1976 – August 2016) and thanked the host country for successful organization of “Thai Cultural Days in Viet Nam.”
They agreed to strengthen specific fields of cooperation; fruitfully implement the Action Program in the 2014-2018; strive for the two-way trade turnover of US$ 20 billion; create favorable ways for further cooperation among Mekong countries and the West-East Economic Corridor.
The two sides took the occasion to discuss regional and international issues of common concern; agreed to work closely within the framework of ASEAN and uphold the bloc’s central role in maintaining regional peace, stability, cooperation, and development.
Both sides agreed to further strengthen bilateral ties, including facilitating visits and high-level exchanges, effectively upholding cooperation mechanisms such as the Joint Cabinet Meeting and the foreign ministerial level Joint Cooperation Committee, realising the 2014-2018 action plan, increasing the use of hotlines between the two navies, toward lifting two-way trade to 20 billion USD by 2020.
Discussing regional and global issues of shared concern, host and guest committed to close liaisons within the framework of ASEAN and global forums, maintenance of ASEAN’s central role in order to ensure peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region. They shared the view that the sustainable use of Mekong River water resources is necessary to member countries of the Greater Sub-Mekong region.
Deputy PM Dam asked Thailand to continue assisting Vietnamese workers as mentioned in the agreement and consider releasing Vietnamese fishermen who were recently arrested, making it easier to deal with the issue in line with each country’s law and on the basis of the sound bilateral strategic partnership.
On the occasion, the two Deputy PMs joined cultural and art activities in celebration of the anniversary. They stressed that the “Thai Cultural Days in Vietnam” (July 28 – August 1) and “Vietnamese Cultural Days in Thailand” (August 9-14) are significant to raising public awareness of each nation’s culture and people.
At the reception for Deputy PM Dam, Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha expressed his appreciation for the ties with Vietnam and wished to further uphold bilateral cooperative mechanisms. Dam, for his part, reiterated Vietnam’s consistent policy of valuing the strategic partnership with Thailand and thanked the Thai government for assisting Vietnamese nationals in the country.
In the morning of the same day, the Vietnamese Deputy PM and Bangkok authorities attended a ceremony to attach a plate showing the Vietnamese name to Khanh Van pagoda – an ancient pagoda of the Vietnamese community in Thailand.
He highlighted that Thailand has always been one of Vietnam’s most important partners in the Southeast Asian region in particular and Asia in general. The establishment of the ASEAN Community in late 2015 is a strong ground the two countries to boost economic cooperation in the time ahead.
