Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh held talks with visiting Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi in Ha Noi on December 23, during which both sides agreed to enhance all-round cooperation in the time ahead.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (R) and visiting Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi. (Photo: VNA)

The two foreign ministers expressed their delight at the traditional friendship and strong strategic partnership between the two nations in recent years, particularly economic cooperation has been thriving with two-way trade in 2019 projected at 9.6 billion USD.

As both nations are celebrating the 65th anniversary of their bilateral diplomatic relations in 2020, Minh and Retno Marsudi agreed to organise celebration activities so as to raise public awareness of the sound bilateral ties. Besides, they would work to enhance bilateral cooperative mechanisms, including the 4th meeting of the Viet Nam – Indonesia Cooperation Committee and the 8th meeting of the joint committee on economic, scientific and technological cooperation, as well as push up the implementation of the Strategic Partnership Action Plan 2019-2023.

Discussing regional and international issues of mutual concerns, both diplomats laid stress on the Viet Nam – Indonesia cooperation, affirming that it plays an important part in each nation’s development while contributing to regional peace and stability.

They said it is crucial to maintain the central role of the ASEAN, especially when Viet Nam is performing in its role as the ASEAN Chair and a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in 2020.

Indonesia affirms support for Viet Nam’s initiatives during the ASEAN Chairmanship Year 2020 with the theme of “Cohesive and Resilient”.

Both sides reached consensus on promoting the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) which was approved at the 34^th ASEAN Summit in Thailand in June, calling it an important basis for the bloc to boost collaboration with foreign partners in the time ahead.

The two ministers also voiced their concerns over the recent developments in the East Sea, and condemned the activities that violate legitimate rights of coastal countries and hinder normal and long-lasting economic activities, saying they seriously affect regional peace, stability and security, run against the spirit of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties on the East Sea (DOC), and affect the favourable environment for negotiaions on the Code of Conduct (COC).

They were unanimous that Viet Nam, Indonesia and other ASEAN member states should work to maintain their common voice and ASEAN’s central role to settle the disputes on the basis of respect to international law, including the 1982 United Nations Conventions on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982).

In addition, the two diplomats agreed to continue close coordination in the framework of the United Nations, especially the UNSC in 2020.

Indonesia pledges to support Viet Nam to successfully complete its role as the UNSC Chair in January 2020, and hails the latter’s initiative to organise an open discussion about the 75^th anniversary of the UN Charter, and a seminar to deliver report on the UN – ASEAN cooperation in maintaining peace and security in the region and the world.

(Source: VNA)