(VOVworld) – Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung is now in Sofia for an official visit to Bulgaria at the invitation of Prime Minister Boico Borisov.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung joined his Portuguese counterpart, Pedro Passos Coelho, at the opening ceremony of the Lisbon Blue Business Forum as part of his official visit to Portugal. The forum is part of the Blue Week Lisbon 2015, held from June 3-5, attracting the participation of representatives from nearly 200 groups, companies, research institutes and technology centres involving maritime issues. Speaking at the event, PM Nguyen Tan Dung stressed the importance of maritime economic development in line with environmental protection and maritime security maintenance: "Maritime economic cooperation cannot be successful if navigation security, safety and freedom are threatened. At present, half of seaborne goods are transported through the route connecting Northeast Asia with Europe. However, on the route, island construction and land reclamation in East Sea are violating international law, the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and regional agreement. These activities undermine trust among nations and seriously threaten peace, stability, aviation and navigation security, safety and freedom. ASEAN and G7 countries have expressed their concern over the issue. I call on the international community to have a strong voice to demand an immediate end to these illegal acts, settle all disputes by peaceful means with respect to international law, especially the UNCLOS and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea, and not to further complicate and expand disputes for peace and common interests of the globe.”