Vietnamese PM meets with world leaders on G20 Summit sidelines

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had meetings with leaders of countries and international organisations on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 19.

The PM took the occasions to affirm Vietnam’s commitment to strengthening international cooperation and developing the relations with foreign countries and international organisations in a deeper and more substantive fashion.

The foreign leaders, for their parts, spoke highly of the socio-economic achievements that Vietnam has made over the recent past as well as the country’s role and position in the international arena. They pledged to continue working to bolster the multi-faceted collaboration with Vietnam and expressed a hope to visit the country soon.

Meeting with General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and Chinese President Xi Jinping, PM Chinh affirmed that Vietnam sees developing the cooperation ties and friendship with China as a strategic choice and a top priority in its foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification and multilateralisation of external relations. He expressed his hope that the two sides will continue to coordinate closely to implement high-level perceptions, joint statements, and documents signed during high-level visits over the past time.

Xi recalled his meeting with Vietnamese President Luong Cuong at the 2024 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Week in Lima, Peru from November 12 – 16, saying it is necessary for the two countries to maintain regular high-level contacts, demonstrating their close and trustworthy relationship.

He lauded the robust collaboration between the two Governments over the past time, saying he wants more practical measures to enhance the implementation of mutual agreements and perceptions. He also called for substantive cooperation, particularly in the construction of three railway lines connecting the two nations.

The Chinese leader expressed his hope that the two sides will continue to support each other and coordinate at multilateral forums and invited Vietnam’s key leaders to visit China at an appropriate time.

In a brief exchange with US President Joe Biden, PM Chinh expressed gratitude for the US President's firm support of the Vietnam-US relations, hoping that Biden will continue making contributions to bilateral ties regardless of his future role.

Biden said PM Chinh is a good friend of the US and expressed his delight over the elevation of the bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership for peace, cooperation, and sustainable development during his tenure. He affirmed his unwavering assistance for the Vietnam – US relationship.

Meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, PM Chinh proposed three priority orientations to promote the Vietnam – India comprehensive strategic partnership in a more effective fashion, one of which is to encourage Indian investments in Vietnam’s strategic sectors like transport, logistics, advanced technology and renewable energy. The second orientation is to strengthen business-to-business connections and government – business dialogues to seek cooperation opportunities and settle challenges, and the third one is to enhance people-to-people exchange.

He took the occasion to invite Modi to visit Vietnam and attend the fourth Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G) Summit in Hanoi next year.

The Indian President emphasised Vietnam's significance in India's foreign policy and said he will consider visiting Vietnam in the coming year.

During the discussion with Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru, PM Chinh said he wishes that both sides will continue consolidating their friendship and political trust through maintaining regular visits at all levels.

PM Chinh also sought continued new-generation Official Development Assistance (ODA) loans from the Japanese government and better living and working conditions for the Vietnamese community in Japan.

The Japanese PM agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation across politics, economy, trade and investment while pledging to create favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community there.

In a meeting with the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s President Yoon Suk Yeol, PM Chinh put forward three key proposals to foster relations between the two countries. These included continuing to promote the exchange of high and all-level delegations and meetings, the RoK’s continued provision of large-scale Official Development Assistance (ODA) for Vietnam to develop infrastructure and address climate change, and enhancing economic and trade cooperation. The Vietnamese PM also set a target for bilateral trade to reach 100 billion USD by 2025 and 150 billion USD by 2030.

President Yoon agreed with these proposals and expressed his readiness to welcome key Vietnamese leaders to visit the RoK in 2025, while instructing relevant agencies to collaborate closely with Vietnam to implement the agreements reached during recent high-level visits.

Meeting with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, PM Chinh congratulated him on his election as the President of Indonesia for the 2024-2029 tenure. The Vietnamese PM expected that Vietnam and Indonesia will upgrade their strategic partnership in 2025, marking 70 years of diplomatic ties, and bring bilateral trade to 18 billion USD. The two sides should focus on fostering business exchanges and investment opportunities, particularly in the Halal market.

President Subianto agreed with the proposals and expressed Indonesia’s wish to upgrade ties with Vietnam, suggesting strengthening bilateral and multilateral cooperation to address regional and global challenges.

Meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, the two leaders expressed their satisfaction over the results of Vietnamese Party General Secretary To Lam’s recent official visit to France, during which the bilateral relationship was elevated to a comprehensive strategic partnership. The two leaders stressed the need to continue exchanges and concretise cooperation mechanisms and agreements in all fields.

PM Chinh praised France’s role and global initiatives on climate change, while President Macron expressed his hope to deepen cooperation in digital transformation and artificial intelligence (AI).

In his meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the two leaders discussed measures to elevate bilateral relations to a new height and address regional and international issues of common interest. They suggested ways to contribute positively to maintaining peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.

Meeting with UN Secretary-General António Guterres, the Vietnamese leader recalled their previous meeting at the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summits in Laos. The PM praised the UN’s role in maintaining global peace and stability and thanked the organisation for its valuable support to Vietnam’s development over the past 40 years.

Guterres congratulated Vietnam on the country’s economic achievements and commended its role as a model of peace and sustainable development, describing Vietnam as a bright spot in international relations for other nations to learn from.

Meeting with President of the European Commission (EC) Ursula von der Leyen, PM Chinh congratulated Ursula von der Leyen on her re-election as President of the EC and expressed gratitude for the EU’s assistance to help Vietnam overcome consequences of Typhoon Yagi.

To further strengthen EU-Vietnam relations, the Vietnamese leader put forth three important directions, namely increasing the exchange of delegations, especially at the high level, settling major issues in the bilateral relationship, including the EC’s removal of “yellow card” on illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing against Vietnam, and the EU’s encouragement to its remaining nine member states to ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA). He asked the EU to continue to maintain ODA for Vietnam and provide financial and technical support to help Vietnam adapt to the new EU regulations on sustainable development, along with assistance in capital, technology, and human resources training to help Vietnam effectively implement the Political Declaration on establishing the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP).

Ursula von der Leyen agreed with the proposals and emphasised the need to enhance economic, trade and investment cooperation and optimise the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). She suggested the two sides strengthen collaboration to promote the efficiency of ASEAN-EU cooperation. She expressed her hope that Vietnam will support the EU's initiatives on peace, stability, and development cooperation in the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions.

On this occasion, PM Chinh invited Ursula von der Leyen to make an official visit to Vietnam and attend the 4th Green Growth and Global Goals Forum (P4G) Summit, which will be hosted by Vietnam from April 14-17, 2025.

Besides, PM Chinh also had positive and constructive discussions with leaders of Malaysia, the UK, Italy, Turkey, Portugal, Mexico, South Africa, Angola, Tanzania, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and key international organisations, including the UN Trade and Development Agency, the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB), and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)./.