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