VietNamNet Bridge – PM Nguyen Tan Dung made a number of significant business trips abroad in 2013 during which he sent out remarkable, clear messages that sought stronger connections between Viet Nam and other nations and strengthened peace, stability and mutual development in the region and the world at large.

PM Nguyen Tan Dung at the 23rd ASEAN Summit.

Shangri-La message of strategic trust

PM Nguyen Tan Dung attending and delivering a keynote address at the 12th Shangri La Dialogue in Singapore on May 31 is the most noted event in 2013.

His speech at the event highlighted the role of a strategic trust among Asia-Pacific nations for peace, stability and prosperity in the region. The address also reconfirmed Viet Nam’s defense policy, which is self-defense and for peace.

He later answered questions raised by delegates attending the dialogue. During the session, PM Dung re-affirmed that as a littoral nation, Viet Nam is determined to protect its sovereignty and legitimate rights in the East Sea in accordance with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 UNCLOS).

The PM said Viet Nam, once again, calls upon ASEAN and China to implement seriously the Declaration on the Conducts of Parties on the East Sea (DOC) in an honest and sincere manner and try their best to work towards a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

Message of a responsible country

PM Dung on September 26-28 attended and delivered a speech themed “Humanity yearns for a world free from war and hunger” at the General Debate of the 68th UN General Assembly.

Once again, the message of “strategic trust” building was highlighted by the Vietnamese Government leader on a global scale in favor of peace and development after it was first mentioned in Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore last May.   

Especially, PM Dung also underscored that Viet Nam stands ready to join UN-led peacekeeping operations as part of the country’s effort to be a responsible member of the international community.

He stressed that Viet Nam has achieved national food security while assisting other countries like Cuba, Mozambique, Angola, Mali, Madagascar, Myanmar and others to become self-reliant in food production.

Relationship with France enhanced

During the working visit to France from September 24-26, PM Nguyen Tan Dung held talks with his host counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault and signed with him a joint statement on the lifting of bilateral relationship to strategic partnership. He also met with President Francois Hollande and Senate President Jean-Pierre Bel.

He also received French Communist Party National Secretary Pierre Laurent and had a dialogue with representatives of France’s leading economic groups.

During the visit, the two sides signed a series of important cooperation documents and agreements in various fields.

The two sides defined priority strategic cooperation fields, including politics-diplomacy, security-national defense, economy-trade-investment, development cooperation, culture, education-training, and research on science and justice.

The visit marked a new landmark in the Viet Nam-France relations, creating an important foundation for the intensive, extensive, comprehensive, stable and sustainable development of the bilateral relations in the time to come.

Trade with Customs Union (Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan) promoted

PM Nguyen Tan Dung and his delegation made official visits to Russia and Belarus from May 12-17.

The trip tightened the time-honored friendship, solidified the trusted political relations, and also promoted linkages in many fields.

It contributed to realizing the Viet Nam-Russia strategic partnership through projects on energy, nuclear power, oil and gas and military issues.

PM Dung and his Russian and Belarusian counterparts, President Putin and President Lucashenko, reached a high consensus regarding the two-year roadmap to conclude the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between Viet Nam and the Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan Customs Union.

It is considered a breakthrough to raise bilateral trade to US$7 billion by 2015 and US$10 billion by 2020.

ASEAN community on the horizon

PM Nguyen Tan Dung led a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation to the 22nd and the 23rd ASEAN Summit and related summits in Brunei from April 24-25 and October 8-10, respectively.

Speaking at the 22nd ASEAN Summit, PM Dung stressed on priorities of ASEAN such as the establishment of an ASEAN Community by 2015 rested on the three pillars of politic-security, economic and culture-society, enhancing relationship with partners and contributing to the regional peace, stability and cooperation.

In his speech at the 23rd ASEAN Summit, the PM highlighted priorities, stances and orientations for the ASEAN Community building work and its post-2015 agenda, the central role of ASEAN and the bloc’s external affairs, and regional and international issues.

Trans-national economic corridors to be formed

PM Nguyen Tan Dung left Ha Noi on June 6 for the 2013 World Economic Forum on East Asia in Myanmar’s capital city, Nay Pyi Taw.

In his keynote speech, PM Dung said an indispensable part of the regional transformation and integration process is efforts to enhance economic connectivity among ASEAN or the Mekong Sub-region, especially the formulation of trans-national economic corridors.

These corridors will bridge South Asia and Central Asia with Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific regions.

He called on investors to pour investments in socio-economic development projects along the corridors.

PM Dung took the occasion to affirm Viet Nam’s readiness to talks with the business community about the improvement of the country’s business environment.

Strategic partnership with Japan reinforced

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung paid a four-day official visit to Japan from December 12-15 to attend the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit and the Mekong-Japan Summit.

During his talks with the Vietnamese leader, Japanese PM Shinzo Abe announced an official development assistance package valued at around 1 billion USD for Viet Nam.

The amount will be allocated to five projects in Viet Nam during the second half of the 2013 fiscal year. The projects include two sections of the North-South Highway, two infrastructure development projects at Lach Huyen Port in Hai Phong city, and a program to support Viet Nam in responding to climate change and enhance its competitiveness and the construction of the Ninh Thuan No. 2 nuclear power plant and the Viet Nam Space Centre.

The two leaders also agreed on the importance of ensuring peace, stability and development in the region, including peace, security, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation based on international law.

Regional integration sped up

PM Nguyen Tan Dung on September 2-3 attended the 2013 ASEAN-China Expo (CAEXPO 2013) and the 10th ASEAN-China Business and Investment Summit (CABIS).

PM Dung’s presence at the two events reflected the country’s commitments to regional integration as well as its consistent policy of attaching importance to the friendship and comprehensive cooperation with China.

Both PM Dung and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang agreed to raise the bilateral trade turnover to US$60 billion by 2015, narrow down the trade gap, maintain peace and stability in the East Sea, and properly resolve all issues through peaceful negotiations.

Source: VGP