(VOVWORLD) -Party leader and President Nguyen Phu Trong held talks with Brunei Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah in Hanoi on Wednesday, after the welcoming ceremony.
Mr. Trong said the Sultan’s visit is of great significance as it marks the upgrade of bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Partnership. Both leaders agreed to increase the exchange of delegations to boost political trust and mutual understanding, continue the joint committee for bilateral cooperation, and establish new cooperative mechanisms between the two countries.
The Vietnamese and Brunei leaders shared the view that two-way trade should reach 500 million USD through trade and investment promotion and business connectivity. Party leader and President Trong welcomed Brunei as Vietnam’s 4th biggest investor in ASEAN with 200 projects worth more than 1 billion USD. He promised continued favorable conditions for foreign businesses. The Brunei Sultan pledged favorable conditions for Vietnamese businesses to produce goods of international Halal standards to penetrate Muslim markets.
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Both sides agreed to share experience and expand cooperation in preventing transnational crimes, organized crimes, human trafficking, and terrorism, while discussing the signing of agreements on extradition, legal assistance, and transfer of convicts. The two leaders discussed ways to strengthen cultural and educational cooperation, airline connection, facilitation of entry-exit procedures, and people-to-people exchanges to boost friendship between the two countries. The Brunei Sultan committed to considering Mr. Trong’s proposal on extending duration of stay without visas for Vietnamese citizens.
Reiterating their consistent stance on the East Sea issue, they affirmed the principle of peacefully settling disputes in line with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Host and guest stressed the need to strengthen trust as well as the importance of non-militarisation and self-restraint from activities that could complicate tensions in the East Sea. They reaffirmed support for the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and the acceleration of negotiations to reach an effective and practical Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) as a roadmap.
They witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two governments on using a hot line to deal with illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.