Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) greets Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs Kristian Jensen

The PM said Vietnam is stepping up anti-corruption and creating a favourable business environment for foreign investors, including those from Denmark .

He proposed the European country persuade the EU to sign the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement as soon as possible.

He took this occasion to thank the Danish Government and people for providing official development assistance (ODA) for Vietnam over the past few years, saying the Southeast Asian country hopes to receive more ODA from Denmark to address current difficulties.

Regarding the East Sea issue, the PM suggested Denmark continuously advocate the maintenance of peace, stability, freedom, safety and security of navigation and aviation as well as the settlement of disputes via peaceful means and international law, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) towards reaching a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

Kristian Jensen said Vietnam and Denmark are forging stronger cooperation in politics, economics and investment, noting that the two sides have hosted numerous activities to celebrate the 45 th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2016.

He added that more than 130 Danish companies are operating in Vietnam in various fields such as beverages, machinery and education.

The diplomat said he hopes the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement will soon be inked.

He informed that Denmark has set up development funds worth 4 billion USD, and expects to list Vietnam among recipients given the country's reform progress.

As regards the East Sea matter, the foreign minister said Denmark hopes the involved parties will address disputes peacefully and in respect of international law.

Vietnam, Denmark strengthen comprehensive partnership

The fifth meeting of the Vietnam – Denmark Joint Governmental Committee took place in Hanoi on October 11, seeking to reinforce the comprehensive partnership between the two countries.

The two sides recognised the rapid development in the bilateral economic and trade cooperation in recent years, especially since they became comprehensive partners in 2013 and signed specific action plans for 2014-2015 and 2016.

Speaking at the event, Minister for Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung said Danish businesses have provided 1.32 billion USD in official development assistance (ODA) to carry out some projects in Vietnam.

The Minister said Vietnam hopes Denmark will continue to strengthen its cooperative ties to support the rapid and sustainable economic growth of the Southeast Asian country.

For his part, Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs Kristian Jensen said Denmark always attaches importance to and proactively promote cooperation with Vietnam , particularly in economics, trade and investment.

Denmark is ranking 26 th out of the 112 countries and territories investing in Vietnam , with 128 projects worth 632 million USD, focusing on the processing and manufacturing industry, transportation, and logistics across 17 cities and provinces.

The importance of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement in further developing the bilateral trade and investment cooperation was also highlighted at the meeting.

On development cooperation, a roadmap for procedural harmonization was agreed by both sides to further promote the Danida Business Finance program in Vietnam , with the aim to finance projects of relevant scales that utilise Danish modern technology and techniques.

Furthermore, the two ministers recognised the importance of the new Strategic Sector Cooperation programmes between Vietnamese and Danish ministries and agencies in environment, food and agriculture, health care and education.

In addition to the achievements made in economic cooperation and trade, the two ministers also pointed out challenges and measures to further strengthen the role and responsibilities of Government agencies and enterprises from both countries.

They also considered a mechanism for effective exchange of information for timely handling difficulties and problems for businesses in the commercial and investment cooperation.

In the spirit of cooperation through the Joint Governmental Committee’s meeting, the two countries believed that economic cooperation and trade between Vietnam and Denmark will continue to grow and contribute to the successful implementation of the Action Plan of the Comprehensive Partnership Agreement as committed by both sides.

VNA