Vietnam and Thailand Encourage Interpersonal and Inter-Community Connections

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Do Hung Viet (R) and Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Thailand Sarun Charoensuwan.

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Do Hung Viet and Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Thailand Sarun Charoensuwan co-chaired the ninth political consultation between the two countries in Hanoi on June 13, VietnamPlus reported.

The two sides shared the view that cooperation in politics – diplomacy, security, and defense remains one of the important pillars of the Vietnam – Thailand relations. They reaffirmed the commitment to not allowing any individual or organization to use the territory of one country to harm the other.

They agreed to enhance cooperation between the two foreign ministries’ relevant units, work closely to promote the fruitful implementation of the action plan for carrying out the countries’ enhanced strategic partnership 2022 – 2027 and step up the signing of important documents in different spheres, thereby further intensifying the enhanced strategic partnership.

The two officials highly valued the vigorous growth of economic, trade, and investment ties while agreeing on coordination to promote the fruitful implementation of their countries’ “three connections” strategy (connecting supply chains; connecting economic sectors, businesses, and localities; and connecting green and sustainable growth strategies) so that bilateral trade can reach the target of $25 billion in the near future.

Viet said both sides should make full use of bilateral cooperation mechanisms to discuss concrete measures for tackling difficulties, creating favorable conditions, and further opening their markets to each other’s goods.

He asked Thailand to consider minimizing the imposition of trade barriers to help reduce the trade deficit for Vietnam; increase investment in the fields matching the two sides’ strength and potential such as tourism, renewable energy, food processing, smart agriculture, and infrastructure building; and expand cooperation to new areas like digital economy, green economy, and high technology.

At the event, Vietnam and Thailand also agreed on the need to further reinforce ties in other important areas, including agriculture, transport, maritime cooperation, tourism, culture, education, people-to-people exchange, and locality-to-locality collaboration.

Charoensuwan affirmed that Vietnam is an important strategic partner of Thailand in the region and that Thailand’s consistent foreign policy is to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in all aspects.

He concurred that the two sides should consider limiting the imposition of trade barriers on each other’s goods.

Most leading enterprises of Thailand are operating effectively in Vietnam, and many plans to expand investment and hope for more optimal conditions provided by the Vietnamese Government, he noted.

At the ninth political consultation between Vietnam and Thailand.

The Permanent Secretary also spoke highly of the role of and contributions of the Vietnamese community in his country to local socio-economic development, describing them as an important bridge helping foster mutual understanding and relations between the countries.

The two officials also exchanged views on international and regional issues of common concern.

They perceived that the enhancement of mutual trust and the enhanced strategic partnership both bilaterally and in international and regional mechanisms, especially the United Nations, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the Mekong sub-regional cooperation, will help the two countries respond to challenges more effectively, work towards sustainable development, and contribute to regional peace and stability.

They underlined their countries’ wish to turn the South China Sea (Bien Dong Sea) into a sea of peace, stability, cooperation, and development and join other ASEAN countries in seriously and fully implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and soon finalizing an efficient and effective code of conduct (COC) that is in accordance with international law and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

On June 12, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son hosted a reception in Hanoi for Sarun Charoensuwan, Nhan dan (People) Newspaper.

Son spoke highly of the strong and intensive development of the enhanced strategic partnership between Vietnam and Thailand, especially in politics, diplomacy, trade, and investment.

Highlighting the efficiency of the political consultation mechanism, the minister suggested upholding its role in reviewing and proposing orientations for the implementation of agreements reached by the two countries’ high-ranking leaders in general and their foreign ministries in particular.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son (R) and Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Thailand Sarun Charoensuwan. Photo: Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Son said the ministries should step up all-level delegation exchanges, particularly in 2023 to celebrate the 10th founding anniversary of the Vietnam-Thailand strategic partnership.

At the same time, they should carry forward their role as a bridge to push ahead with the materialization of the action plan implementing the enhanced strategic partnership in the 2022-2027 period, especially the “Three Connections” initiative that covers supply chain; economies, businesses, and localities; and sustainable growth strategies of the two countries, he said.

The minister also suggested the two sides enhance cooperation in such new areas as the digital economy, green economy, and energy transition while supporting each other at multilateral forums, particularly the United Nations (UN), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Mekong sub-region cooperation.

For his part, Charoensuwan expressed his wish to welcome Son on a visit to Thailand and committed to coordinating with the Vietnamese side to effectively implement cooperation contents in all important spheres, including national defense and security, trade, investment, culture, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges.

The official noted that Vietnam is an important partner of Thailand in the region, and agreed on the need for the two sides to continue their close coordination in maintaining ASEAN’s solidarity and centrality, and to strengthen their cooperation at regional and international mechanisms.

He said apart from big groups and investment projects that are operating fruitfully in Vietnam, more and more Thai enterprises have shown their interest in the market./.