Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on October 19 visited the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Headquarters, met GCC Secretary General Jassim Muhammad Al-Budaiwi and witnessed the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam and the GCC Secretariat as part of his trip to the Middle East nation to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations – GCC (ASEAN-GCC) summit.

In the meeting with the GCC Secretary General, Chinh highly appreciated the role of the GCC and affirmed that Vietnam attaches great importance to further promoting mutually beneficial cooperation with the GCC and other member countries. The Government leader emphasised that Vietnam is ready to act as a bridge and promote cooperation between ASEAN and GCC - the two leading dynamic development regions in the world, for peace, stability and development in the region and the world.

Chinh said that the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam and the GCC Secretariat opens a new potential channel of cooperation, a milestone in the relationship between Vietnam and the GCC. He requested that the sides soon agree on a specific cooperation programme to implement the MoU effectively.

For his part, Al-Budaiwi hailed the role and position of Vietnam in the international arena as well as its recent achievements.

He affirmed that all six Gulf countries have maintained good relations with Vietnam and the two sides still have a lot of potential for cooperation, adding that the GCC Secretariat will actively help Vietnam to boost cooperation with Gulf countries in areas where both sides have strengths.

Regarding ASEAN-GCC cooperation, the GCC Secretary General said that the two sides will write a success story as they are both stable, dynamic and peace-loving regions and are making efforts to promote cooperation for the benefit of their people.

Chinh took the occasion to invite Al-Budaiwi to visit Vietnam soon to expedite the implementation of concrete cooperation contents.

PM receives Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund Governor

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has proposed the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia – one among the world’s 10 biggest public investment funds – expand and diversify investment activities in Vietnam's priority areas such as digital transformation, green economy, circular economy, innovation, renewable energy, high technology, tourism and Halal industry.

Chinh made the suggestion while receiving the fund’s Governor Al-Rumayyan in Riyadh on October 19 within the framework of his trip to Saudi Arabia to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) - Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit and visit the country.

Yasir Al-Rumayyan said that the fund has invested 160 million USD in Vietnam through indirect form.

He suggested the Vietnamese Government continue to create more favourable conditions for the PIF to operate effectively in Vietnam, and committed to devoting more resources to larger projects to develop infrastructure in the country.

The Vietnamese Government leader urged the two sides to continue establishing a joint investment fund to carry out investment projects in each country, like those between Vietnam and Oman and several other countries which have proved effective.

Attention should be paid to enhancing effective cooperation between investment agencies of the two countries, especially in sharing information and policies, introducing cooperation opportunities in potential projects in each country and intensifying collaboration in investment promotion in Vietnam, he added.

Source: VNA