Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh meets Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines Teodoro Lopez Locsin in Manila on March 6, 2019

The visit is made at the invitation of Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh.

Last March, the pair co-chaired the 9th meeting of the Viet Nam-Philippines Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation in Manila, the Philippines, during which the sides agreed that political-diplomatic relations between the two countries have become increasingly deep and trusted as evidenced by the contents and outcomes of their visits and contacts.

The two FMs expressed pleasure that defense and security ties have been strengthened in an increasingly practical manner through information and experience exchanges as well as bilateral defense policy dialogues and consultations.

On multilateral aspect, the Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs congratulated Viet Nam on hosting the second DPRK-US Summit, emphasizing the significance of the event as it helps build trust, accelerate substantive peace talks on the Korean peninsula.

The two sides pledged to continue close collaboration at multilateral forums and work with other ASEAN members to beef up ASEAN solidarity and centrality over security and strategic issues in the region.

Vietnamese side voiced strong support for the Philippines to well fulfill its role as the coordinator of the ASEAN-China relations meanwhile the Philippine side affirmed to back Viet Nam’s role as the ASEAN Chair in 2020./. VGP