HANOI: Vietnam and Timor-Leste exchanged a series of cooperation documents after talks between Prime Minister Le Minh Hung and his Timor-Leste counterpart Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão in Hanoi on Tuesday, including an agreement on a visa exemption for holders of ordinary passports.
Other deals included memoranda of understanding on higher education and educational cooperation, as well as a memorandum of understanding between the Vietnam News Agency and TATOLI.
Gusmão is on an official visit to Vietnam at the invitation of PM Hung and attended the Asean Future Forum on Tuesday morning.
During the talks, the two leaders welcomed the signing of cooperation documents, saying these would provide an important foundation for stronger people-to-people exchanges and broader cooperation.
Hung congratulated Timor-Leste on its recent achievements, particularly its official accession to Asean, describing it as a significant milestone that would help strengthen Asean's unity, centrality and vitality.
He expressed confidence that, with its strong commitment to regional integration, Timor-Leste would soon participate fully and effectively in Asean cooperation mechanisms, contributing alongside other member states to peace, stability and sustainable development in the region.
PM Gusmão expressed appreciation for Vietnam’s support throughout Timor-Leste's bid to join Asean, saying that Vietnam is not only a trusted friend but also an effective and close development partner of Timor-Leste.
The two prime ministers agreed that Vietnam and Timor-Leste possess considerable potential and complementary advantages to further expand cooperation for the benefit of their peoples and for a stable, resilient and sustainable region.
They welcomed positive progress in bilateral relations and agreed to continue strengthening political trust, promoting exchanges of delegations and high-level contacts through Party, state, government and parliamentary channels, as well as people-to-people exchanges.
The leaders also agreed to effectively implement high-level agreements and signed documents, including the Framework Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation and another to convene the first meeting of the Vietnam and Timor-Leste Joint Commission, co-chaired by the two foreign ministers.
Both sides aim to elevate bilateral relations to a new level ahead of the 25th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2027.
Gusmão called on Vietnam to continue supplying its valued products, particularly rice, to help ensure Timor-Leste's food security.
He praised investments by Vietnamese enterprises, especially Viettel through its Telemor brand, for contributing to the development of digital infrastructure and connectivity in Timor-Leste.
The Timor-Leste PM also expressed hope that more Vietnamese companies would invest in agriculture, fisheries, tourism, infrastructure and resource development.
Meanwhile, Hưng proposed that the two sides accelerate negotiations on an Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement, while studying the establishment of a bilateral mechanism on economic, trade and investment cooperation to better support businesses.
The two leaders also pledged to expand cooperation in areas such as defence and security, agriculture, fisheries, food security, education and training, workforce development, culture, tourism, sports, transport connectivity and people-to-people exchanges.
The Vietnamese PM reaffirmed Vietnam’s readiness to share development and international integration experience, assist with worker training and dispatch experts to support Timor-Leste in areas that meet its needs.
As for multilateral cooperation, the two leaders agreed to strengthen coordination and mutual support at the United Nations, Asean and other regional and international forums.
They also vowed to uphold Asean unity and centrality and promote peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region, including through respect for international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. — Vietnam News/ANN
