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On August 26, Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung met with Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing.
President Min Aung Hlaing welcomed the successful convening by the two foreign ministers of the 10th meeting of the Vietnam-Myanmar Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation, describing it as a timely step that would help usher bilateral relations into a new phase.
Reaffirming the importance Myanmar attaches to the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries, whose foundations were laid by President Ho Chi Minh, General Aung San and successive generations of leaders from both sides, President Min Aung Hlaing expressed confidence that the meeting's outcomes would help make bilateral cooperation stronger, more substantive and deeper.
Congratulating President Min Aung Hlaing on the positive results achieved after more than 100 days of governing the country, Minister Le Hoai Trung said Vietnam appreciated the efforts of Myanmar's new government and supported the country in continuing measures to promote stability, reconciliation and dialogue, foster economic development, ensure security and safety, and improve people's livelihoods.
The minister proposed that the two sides work to revive practical cooperation mechanisms and facilitate business activities. He also asked Myanmar to consider mechanisms and policies that would enable Vietnamese companies to expand their investments. Trung further proposed exploring the establishment of a Vietnam-Myanmar digital transformation program, initially selecting several practical pilot projects, assessing their effectiveness and then expanding successful models.
President Min Aung Hlaing spoke highly of Vietnam's development achievements and thanked the country for its consistent support for Myanmar throughout its development and nation-building process, as well as within ASEAN and at regional and international forums.
He affirmed that Myanmar would continue supporting Vietnamese companies operating in the country and create favorable mechanisms and policies so they could invest and do business with confidence and success, particularly in telecommunications, education and training, agriculture, food processing, logistics, digital transformation, and science and technology.
Neither country to allow its territory to be used against the other
Earlier, Minister Le Hoai Trung and Myanmar Foreign Minister Tin Maung Swe co-chaired the 10th meeting of the Vietnam-Myanmar Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation.
The two sides reviewed cooperation across various fields since the ninth meeting in March 2019 and emphasized the timeliness of the latest session in setting out concrete directions and generating fresh momentum for the Comprehensive Cooperative Partnership.
The two countries' ambassadors presented their credentials in July, while the Joint Commission mechanism resumed after a period of interruption.
Both sides expressed their determination to significantly strengthen economic, trade and investment cooperation. They agreed to convene the 11th meeting of the Joint Trade Subcommittee at an early date to address difficulties in a timely manner, discuss cooperation measures and work toward the goal of bringing two-way trade to $1 billion.
The two sides agreed to jointly review agreements and commitments covering the economy, trade, customs and investment, while simplifying procedures for import licensing, quarantine, quality standards and customs clearance.
Myanmar's foreign minister affirmed that his government would create favorable conditions for Vietnamese companies to conduct business with confidence and expand investment, particularly in areas where Myanmar has strong demand, including telecommunications, education and training, agriculture and food processing.
The two sides agreed to continue promoting effective defense and security cooperation, gradually increasing delegation exchanges and expanding cooperation in training, exchanges among young officers, cultural, sporting and military activities, as well as responses to non-traditional security challenges such as search and rescue, disaster recovery, remediation of unexploded ordnance, humanitarian assistance and military medicine.
Myanmar will continue working closely with Vietnam to combat drug-related crime and cybercrime. The two sides also reaffirmed that neither would allow organizations or individuals to use its territory to conduct activities against the other country.
Regarding information and telecommunications infrastructure, Minister Min Aung Swe praised the involvement of Vietnamese companies in Myanmar, saying they had contributed to building and upgrading the country's telecommunications infrastructure. Myanmar is interested in developing digital government and the digital economy and called on Vietnamese companies to participate more actively in areas where they have strengths.
Both sides noted that cooperation in transport, agriculture, culture and sports, tourism, finance, banking, information and communications, and education and training had achieved encouraging results, but still offered considerable potential and strengths yet to be fully tapped.
Minister Le Hoai Trung proposed that Vietnam and Myanmar work with Laos to upgrade transport routes, strengthening connectivity among the three countries and across mainland Southeast Asia.
Discussing regional and international issues of shared concern, the two sides reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace, stability and cooperation in the East Sea, internationally known as the South China Sea. They agreed to continue coordinating and supporting each other at regional and international forums. Minister Le Hoai Trung invited Myanmar representatives to attend the ASEAN Future Forum in Hanoi in 2027.
Tran Thuong
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