Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister To Anh Dung (R) shakes hands with Secretary of State at the Romanian Foreign Ministry Monica Gheorghita at the political consultation in Hanoi on May 14

Deputy Minister Dung said Vietnam always treasures its traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Romania. It thanks Romania, which is holding the EU presidency for the first half of 2019, for pledging to strongly support the early signing and ratification of the free trade agreement and the investment protection agreement between Vietnam and the EU.

He affirmed that Vietnam is ready to serve as a bridge to enhance Romania and the EU’s cooperation with ASEAN when it takes over the ASEAN Chair position in 2020.

The official also appreciated Romania’s commitment to supporting Vietnam’s candidacy for a non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council for 2020-2021.

For her part, Secretary of State Gheorghita hailed the recent visit to her country by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, considering this an important event in bilateral ties. She also applauded the business forum that involved more than 200 enterprises of both sides during the trip.

She affirmed that the Romanian Government highly values socio-economic development and international integration achievements of Vietnam in recent years. It attaches importance to promoting cooperation with the Southeast Asian nation, especially in trade and investment.

At the consultation, the two sides agreed to increase mutual visits and meetings between the countries’ leaders, continue to effectively implement the political consultation mechanism between the foreign ministries’ general department directors and deputy ministers, and work closely together to organise activities marking 70 years of bilateral diplomatic relations in 2020.

The countries will soon organise the 16th meeting of the joint committee for economic cooperation so as to discuss orientations for ties in the fields matching Romania’s demand and Vietnam’s strength, including oil and gas, oil refinery and petrochemistry, architecture, construction, seaports, medicine, agriculture, and food processing.

They also agreed to step up educational collaboration through the effective use of the 20 scholarships that Romania gives to Vietnam, as well as work towards the signing of a new educational cooperation programme.

The officials concurred in enhancing partnerships in agriculture and labour, considering these as fields with high potential for bilateral cooperation in the time ahead.

At the event, Deputy Minister Dung and Secretary of State Gheorghita also discussed international and regional issues of common concern. They shared the view on the importance of improving the effectiveness of global governance, regional connectivity, and international law. –VNA