Deputy PM meets Chinese FM, EU representative in Singapore
VOV.VN -Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh on August 3 had separate meetings with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini on the sidelines of the 51st ASEAN Ministerial Meeting and related meetings in Singapore.
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| Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R). |
They consented to work together in realizing agreements and common perspectives reached by senior leaders, continue augmenting cooperation among ministries, sectors and localities.
Both sides agreed that Vietnam and China should deal with pending issues in cooperation projects, and maintain the stable and positive development trend of bilateral partnership.
Minh hailed the growth of the Vietnam-China relations over the past years while proposing China take more effective measures to expand trade cooperation and to narrow Vietnam’s trade deficit.
He conveyed an invitation to Chinese leaders to attend the World Economic Forum on ASEAN, set to take place in Hanoi over September 11-13.
Concerning the East Sea issue, Minh underlined the importance of settling the disputes in the East Sea through peaceful measures in line with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), as well as the strict implementation of common perspectives of the two countries’ leaders.
It is imperative to well control the differences, refrain from any action that complicates the situation and escalates disputes, along with the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) as well as working toward an effective and legally binding Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) at an early date, he said.
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| EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini (R). |
Meeting with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, Minh asked both sides to continue working hand in hand to soon finalize negotiations towards signing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and Investment Protection Agreement (IPA).
He also urged the European Union (EU) to consider removing the “yellow card” warning on Vietnamese seafood soon, saying Vietnam has been working to deal with illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.