Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Tran Dai Quang have asked Romania to continue supporting the just stance of Vietnam and ASEAN in addressing the East Sea issue by peaceful means on the basis of international law, particularly the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982.

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (R) and Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos.

They had separate meetings with visiting Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos in Hanoi on July 12.

General Secretary Trong hailed the Prime Minister’s visit as a motivation to intensifying the two countries’ cooperation.

Thanking Romania for its support for Vietnam’s nation-building cause, the Party leader expressed his hope to boost traditional friendship and multi-faceted cooperation with the European nation, especially in economics and defence.

He appreciated Romania for supporting the Vietnamese people living and studying there as well as the collaboration between Vietnam and ASEAN with the European Union.

PM Ciolos emphasised that Romania will do more for its time-honoured friendship and cooperation with Vietnam to grow further.

When meeting with President Quang, Ciolos affirmed that Vietnam is one of the priority partners of Romania in Asia.

Romania sees Vietnam as an example of economic development in the region, Ciolos stated, adding that his visit, therefore, focused on economic, trade and investment cooperation.

The host and guest shared the view that the two countries’ current economic, trade and investment cooperation have yet to meet respective potential and expectations.

Two-way trade has maintained a stable growth at 10-15 percent each year. Trade value reached 175.6 million USD in 2015, of which 102.2 million USD came from Vietnam’s exports.

The Vietnamese leader expressed his hope that Romania will do to speed up the European Union’s signing of the EU-Vietnam free trade agreement (FTA), saying that once implemented, the agreement will help boost economic, trade and investment ties between Vietnam and the EU, of which Romania is a member.

He asked the European nation to soon recognise Vietnam’s market economy status, facilitate the export of Vietnamese goods, and encourage Romanian enterprises to expand investments in the Southeast Asian country.

The guest confirmed that Romania will swiftly ratify the agreement and push for the EU’s official signing of the FTA with Vietnam.

Both agreed that the two countries will back each other in running for a non-permanent member seat of the UN Security Council in the 2020-2021 tenure.

Romania respects international principles and law and supports the settlement of disputes by peaceful measures, PM Ciolos said, hoping that the two nations will coordinate more closely in the issues of mutual concern.

Romania also decided to double its scholarships to 20 for Vietnamese students from 2017, he added.

Vietnamese, Romanian PMs hold talks

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc held talks with his Romanian counterpart Dacian Ciolos following a welcoming ceremony in Hanoi on July 12, assuring his guest that Vietnam continually treasures the development of friendship and cooperation with traditional friends, including Romania.

The PM hailed the first visit by the Romanian leader as a strong impetus for traditional friendship and all-around cooperation between the two countries in the near future.

Ciolos, who is in Vietnam from July 11-14, affirmed that Vietnam is Romania’s important partner in Southeast Asia, and expressed a wish to develop bilateral ties across economic and trade fields to match potential and demand.

At the talks, the two leaders agreed to effectively implement the Vietnam-Romania Joint Committee on Economic Cooperation mechanism, boost two-way trade, and encourage investment in infrastructure, energy, food processing, pharmaceuticals, environmental protection, water resources management and tourism.

Host and guest pledged to enhance collaboration in education and training, science and technology and defence and security.

The Vietnamese PM thanked the Romanian government for doubling scholarships for Vietnamese students to 20 each year starting from 2017, as well as Romanian authorities for assisting Vietnamese nationals in settling down their lives in the host country.

Discussing regional and global issues of shared concern, the two PMs expressed their pleasure with the close and effective liaison at global forums.

As an active member of the European Union (EU), Romania supports the strengthening of the relationship between Vietnam and the EU, and calls on the EU to recognise Vietnam as a full market economy soon, he said.

On the East Sea issue, they expressed concern over the recent developments and underscored the need to settle disputes by peaceful means in line with international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea, toward the early formulation of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea, considering it an effective way to ensure peace, stability, security, maritime and aviation safety and freedom, and trade in the East Sea.

On the occasion, the Romanian government leader invited his host to visit Romania.

Following the talks, both sides convened a press conference and witnessed the signing of cooperation deals in the fields of culture, education and energy.

VNA