Party General Secretary and State President To Lam holds talks with President of Ireland Michael Higgins in Dublin on October 2, 2024. (Photo: VNA/Tri Dung)

Mr. Lam, who is on state visit to the Ireland from Tuesday to Thursday, said Vietnam attaches importance to developing its friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Ireland and hopes that Ireland will continue providing development assistance for Vietnam in key areas such as green growth, climate change response, environmental protection, information technology, digital transformation and sustainable development. 

The two sides emphasized the need to effectively capitalize on the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), promote trade-investment connection, support the business communities of the two countries, and strive to increase two-way trade to 5 billion USD by 2026. 

President Higgins acknowledged Vietnam's proposal to accelerate the ratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) to expand cooperation and investment opportunities between the Vietnamese and Irish business communities. He asked that Vietnam facilitate Ireland's export of high-quality agricultural products and food products. 

The two sides discussed regional security issues of shared concern, including the situation in Ukraine and the Middle East. They called on all parties to protect civilians, conduct dialogue, and resolve conflicts by peaceful measures on the basis of international law and the basic principles of the United Nations Charter. 

They supported ASEAN's stance on the East Sea issue in terms of ensuring peace, stability, security, cooperation and development in the region, and settling disputes by peaceful means on the basis of respecting international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).