Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh had bilateral meetings with Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister of Ireland; Foreign Ministers of Romania, Bulgaria, and Kazakhstan; and Acting Foreign Minister of Spain on the sidelines of the 14th ASEM Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Madrid, Spain on November 16. 

Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh meets with
Ireland's counterpart Simon Coveney in Madrid, Spain on December 16, 2019

 * At his meeting with Ireland’s Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Simon Coveney, Minh spoke highly of constant growth of the Viet Nam-Ireland relations, particularly since President Michael Daniel Higgins’s official visit to Viet Nam in 2016.

Meanwhile, Coveney affirmed Viet Nam is a major partner of Ireland in the region and both sides share numerous potential to further strengthen cooperation in such fields like agriculture, food processing and technology.

The two sides agreed to continue measures to accelerate the bilateral ties through the exchange of delegations and prompt establishment of an inter-governmental committee on economic, trade and investment cooperation.

Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (left) and Romanian
Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu in Madrid, Spain on December 16, 2019.

 * Deputy PM, FM Minh and Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu expressed their pleasure at the fine development of the two countries’ relationship, especially since the official visit to Romania by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc last April.

Both sides shared the view that the traditional friendship and Vietnamese community in Romania are among the fundamental foundations for the two countries to further foster bilateral cooperation.

The pair agreed to organize activities to mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2020.

Deputy PM, FM Minh asked the Romania side to continue import of Vietnamese labor force and create favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community in the European country.

Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (right) meets with
Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Tleuberdi Mukhtar in Madrid, Spain on
December 16, 2019.

 * Deputy PM, FM Minh and Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Tleuberdi Mukhtar noted with pleasure that the Viet Nam-Kazakhstan relations are advancing well thanks to regular exchange of delegations and the signing of the free trade agreement between Viet Nam and the Eurasian Economic Union.

The aforesaid trade deal has raised the two-way trade between Viet Nam and Kazakhstan to US$268 million in 2018. 

Both sides agreed to continue close coordination at regional and international forums, especially in 2020 as Viet Nam undertakes the ASEAN Chairmanship role and Kazakhstan hosts the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-building Measures (CICA).

Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh meets with Bulgarian
Foreign Minister  Ekaterina Zakarieva in Madrid, Spain on December 16, 2019.

 * Deputy PM, FM Minh and Bulgaria’s Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zakarieva noted with pleasure at the positive growth of the Viet Nam-Bulgaria relationship.

The two sides agreed to organize events to mark the 70th anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic relations in 2020.

They also agreed on measures to further foster the bilateral ties a cross fields like politic-diplomacy, economy, trade culture and education.

Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and
Spain's acting Foreign Minister Margarita Robles

 * In his meeting with acting Foreign Minister Margarita Robles, Minh congratulated Spain on successful organization of the 25th United Nations Climate Conference and the 14th ASEM Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

Robles extended thanks for Viet Nam’s support and active participation in the aforesaid events. 

Regarding bilateral ties, both sides agreed that the Viet Nam-Spain strategic partnership has been increasingly consolidated and enhanced since its establishment in 2009.

Both sides agreed to continue maintaining contacts and deepening economic cooperation, and soon convene the first meeting of their Committee on economic, trade and investment cooperation.

On multilateral aspect, the two sides underlined the need to further step up coordination at multilateral forums and work together to beef up cooperation between ASEAN and the EU.

During the above meetings, relevant countries congratulated Viet Nam on assuming the role as ASEAN Chair in 2020 and on wining a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council for the 2020-2021.

They affirmed their readiness to cooperate with Viet Nam within ASEAN, the United Nations and other global forums.

On the occasion, Deputy PM, FM Minh also met with Foreign Ministers of Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Poland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Slovenia to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation on both bilateral and multilateral aspects./.