HANOI: Party General Secretary and State President To Lam has called on Vietnam and Thailand to further strengthen political trust, expand economic, defence and security cooperation, and promote people-to-people exchanges through increased delegation exchanges and multi-level contacts in the next few years.
The top Vietnamese leader made the call on (June 9) in Hanoi during a meeting with Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who is on an official visit to Vietnam attending the third Asean Future Forum.
Lam also urged the two countries to broaden collaboration across all channels and maintain the effectiveness of existing bilateral cooperation mechanisms, particularly the Joint Cabinet meeting mechanism.
The party chief and president confirmed that the Communist Party of Vietnam attaches great importance to and wishes to strengthen cooperation with Thailand’s political parties, including the Bhumjaithai Party, thus helping to reinforce the political foundation and long-term orientation of bilateral relations.
For his part, Anutin expressed strong support for the major directions outlined by the Vietnamese leader, pledging to advance the 'Three Connects' strategy in a substantive manner and work closely with Vietnam to deepen economic, trade and investment ties as well as infrastructure, logistics and supply chain connectivity.
He also highlighted the importance of expanding cooperation in science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, the digital economy and artificial intelligence.
Both countries will strive to achieve balanced and sustainable growth in bilateral trade, with a target of reaching US$25 billion and eventually $50 billion in trade in the future, the Thai PM said.
The two sides also agreed to strengthen cooperation through party-to-party, parliamentary and people-to-people channels, while continuing close coordination within multilateral frameworks, such as Asean, the United Nations, Apec and Mekong sub-regional cooperation mechanisms, contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and beyond.
Lam said he was pleased to meet Anutin again following the Vietnamese leader's official visit to Thailand in late May.
He expressed gratitude to the Thai Royal Family, government and people, as well as to the PM and his wife, for the warm and gracious hospitality extended to him, his wife and the high-level Vietnamese delegation during the visit.
The top Vietnamese leader underscored the significance of Anutin’s visit, which takes place as bilateral relations are flourishing and coincides with the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Thailand.
Lam also expressed confidence that the visit would contribute to further deepening the two countries’ Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in a more substantive and effective manner.
For his part, Anutin said he was delighted to be making his first official visit to Vietnam and thanked the Vietnamese leadership and people for their warm welcome.
He conveyed greetings from the King and Queen of Thailand to Lam and his wife, noting that the Vietnamese leader’s recent official visit to Thailand had been a resounding success.
Anutin also said the visit left a highly positive impression on the Thai public, opened up new avenues for cooperation and generated fresh momentum for bilateral ties to enter a new stage of development.
During the meeting, the Thai PM briefed the party chief and president on the highly successful outcome of his talks with Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung.
The two governments have agreed on specific measures to implement deals reached by both countries’ senior leaders, particularly those stemming from Lam’s visit to Thailand.
Anutin reaffirmed that Thailand has always regarded Vietnam as a close neighbour and trusted partner.
He noted that the Thai Government delegation accompanying him includes three Deputy Prime Ministers, six Cabinet Ministers, Commanders of the Armed Services and senior ministry officials, reflecting Thailand’s high regard for Vietnam and its determination to further strengthen and expand bilateral relations across all fields in a more robust and substantive manner. — Vietnam News/ANN
