Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc met country leaders and senior officials on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hamburg on July 8. 

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (L) meets Indonesian President Joko Widodo on the sidelines of G20 Summit.

Meeting Indonesian President Joko Widodo, the PM asked Indonesia to deal with fishery issues in humanitarian spirit and in line with bilateral strategic partnership. He suggested accelerating the conclusion of negotiations on demarcation of exclusive economic zones between the two countries. 

Widodo, for his part, expressed his support to Vietnam’s successful hosting of APEC Year 2017 and agreed with the Vietnamese PM’s suggestions. 

In another meeting with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, the Vietnamese PM urged India to gradually clear trade barriers towards lifting two-way trade to 15 billion USD by 2020. 

The Vietnamese government is ready to offer all possible support for Indian firms to do business in Vietnam, he said, adding that Vietnam backs “Act East” policy of India and will continue further strengthening ASEAN-India strategic partnership. 

Modi vowed to increase the exchange of visits at all levels on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties and the 10th anniversary of strategic partnership. He spoke highly of Vietnam’s coordinating role in ASEAN-India ties and described Vietnam as an important pillar in India’s “Act East” policy. 

Talking with President of the European Council Donald Tusk and President of the European Commission Jean Claude Juncker, the government leader asked the European Union to soon complete legal review, sign the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and provide technical support for Vietnam to effectively realise the deal. 

He expressed his wish that the EU would continue with specific projects to help Vietnam deliver commitments in the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change. 

The EU leaders highly valued Vietnam’s role in Southeast Asia and ASEAN and agreed to speed up legal review for the EVFTA signing. 

On the East Sea issue, leaders from Indonesia, India and the EU agreed with Vietnam’s stance on the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security, maritime and aviation safety and freedom in the East Sea, settling disputes by peaceful means in line with international law and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. 

At a meeting with Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the PM wished for further bilateral cooperation in order to fulfill the UN Sustainable Development Goals. 

The WHO Director General lauded Vietnam as one of the successful examples in health care. 

On the occasion, the Vietnamese leader also met Chinese President, US President, and his counterparts from Australia, the Republic of Korea, Canada, among others. 

In his speech to the G20 Summit session on July 8, PM Phuc hailed the event for discussing employment and women’s empowerment amid the fourth industrial revolution. 

He urged G20 to build a new global framework on further liberalisation of cyber infrastructure development, information technology and digital application, as well as open a global forum on start-ups to share information and experience. 

The PM also informed that Vietnam will also hold the APEC High-Level Policy Dialogue on women and economy in September 2017 to facilitate Vietnamese women’s access to business opportunities and contribute to digital economy. 

During the visit to Germany from July 5-8, the PM held talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, met German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of the German Federal Council and Minister-President of Rheinland-Pfalz state Malu Dreyer. 

He also met several federal and local leaders and co-chaired the Vietnam-Germany Business Forum. 

As a speaker of the G20 Summit discussion on sustainable development, climate change, and energy, Phuc said Vietnam has pushed forward the 2017 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)’s agenda for sustainable development, climate change response and efficient energy use. 

In the afternoon the same day (local time), the PM and his entourage left Hamburg, concluding the Germany visit, and flying to the Netherlands at the invitation of his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte.

VNA