APD | Philippine Foreign Secretary meets Vietnamese officials

By APD writer Melo M. Acuña

MANILA, July 8 (APD) – Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. began his two-day official visit including his first bilateral official meeting with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh in Hanoi.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. (left) pays his courtesy call on Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in Hanoi. (DFA Photo/Anthony Cornista/OSec.)

This meeting focused on the detailed bilateral initiatives mentioned in the Philippines-Vietnam Plan of Action 2019-2024.

The Philippines and Vietnam will mark next year the 5th anniversary of the elevation of relations to a Strategic Partnership. Both officials lauded the early progress in implementing their Plan of Action along with the relevant agencies of their respective governments.

In a statement released late Monday afternoon, the Department of Foreign Affairs said the two ministers expressed satisfaction over the sustained and regular reciprocal high-level visits and the robust economic engagement between the two countries and their business sectors.

They agreed to further strengthen cooperation in maritime affairs, law enforcement and labor.

They signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Cooperation between the two Foreign Ministers in accordance with the commitment reached during the 9th Philippines-Vietnam Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation held in March. The newly-signed MoU hopes to foster close collaboration between Philippine and Vietnamese foreign ministers for the effective implementation of the Plan of Action and the outcomes of the biennial JCBC Meetings.

Secretary Locsin is scheduled to pay his courtesy call on Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)