Vietnamese, Chilean foreign ministers vow to deepen relations

Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn (right) welcomes his Chilean counterpart Alberto Van Klaveren yesterday. VNA/VNS Photo An Đăng

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam hopes to deepen relations with Chile in multiple domains including in politics and diplomacy, trade and investment, culture and education, science and technology, security and people-to-people exchange, said Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn while holding talks with his Chilean counterpart Alberto van Klaveren Stork in Hà Nội on Sunday.

Việt Nam would support Chile’s progress in strengthening relations with ASEAN and the East Asia-Pacific region, Sơn told the guest, who is here on an official visit from August 25-27. 

Welcoming Minister Alberto Van Klaveren back, Minister Sơn affirmed that the Southeast Asian country highly valued its longstanding friendship with Chile, the first country in South America to establish diplomatic relations with Việt Nam on March 25, 1971.

The Vietnamese minister expressed his delight at the ongoing bilateral comprehensive partnership between the two countries, especially in growing economic and trade relations which have exceeded US$2 billion.

Chile continues to be Việt Nam’s fourth largest trading partner in Latin America, and Việt Nam continues to be Chile’s largest trading partner in ASEAN.

Minister Alberto Van Klaveren affirmed that the Chilean Government had always valued fostering relations with Việt Nam in its overall policy towards the Asia-Pacific region, especially when the two countries are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the implementation of the bilateral Free Trade Agreement (2014-2024) and recently became members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

The Chilean Foreign Minister wishes to work with Việt Nam to bolster cooperation between ASEAN and the Pacific Alliance of Chile, Mexico, Colombia and Peru.

During the talks, the two sides agreed on a number of measures to deepen relations between the two countries, including preparations for high-level visits, promoting the effectiveness of the political consultation mechanism and the Việt Nam-Chile Free Trade Council.

They also discussed measures to facilitate market access for products from both sides.

The two sides reviewed and agreed to promote and negotiate a number of cooperation agreements in trade, customs, agriculture, defence, security and law enforcement.

The two ministers vowed to coordinate and support each other at international organisations and multilateral forums, especially at the United Nations.

Discussing international and regional issues of mutual concern, they reached the consensus that international disputes should be resolved by peaceful means on the basis of respect for international laws, contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the two regions and the world. — VNS