On the afternoon of September 16, at the Government Headquarters, Politburo member and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received Timor-Leste Foreign and Cooperation Minister Bendito dos Santos Freitas.
Welcoming Minister Freitas on his first official visit to Vietnam, the Prime Minister assessed that Timor-Leste's visit before joining ASEAN will contribute to further deepening cooperation between the two countries in various fields, aiming to bring bilateral relations to a new height, both more effective, practical and closer.
The Prime Minister emphasized that Timor-Leste's early becoming the 11th member of ASEAN is a historic event, affirming Timor-Leste's position, prestige and continuous efforts; believing that Timor-Leste will work with ASEAN countries to build a community of solidarity, self-reliance and sustainable development.
Discussing bilateral cooperation, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh proposed to enhance political trust through exchanges and contacts at high levels, at all levels and through channels.
On the basis of telecommunications cooperation, through the successful investment cooperation project Telemor, the Prime Minister expects that trade - investment cooperation will soon have breakthrough growth; suggested that the two sides promote negotiations on trade, investment protection, labor, visa exemption for ordinary passport holders; strengthen cooperation in rice production, oil and gas, digital services, etc.
The Prime Minister also suggested that the two countries promote cooperation in other important areas such as security - defense, telecommunications, education and training, clean energy, high technology, etc.; effectively take advantage of new trends such as green economy, digital economy, clean energy, innovation, smart intelligence; promote people-to-people exchanges through tourism development, cultural exchanges.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Timor-Leste emphasized that the people of Timor-Leste always remember that Vietnam was the first country to recognize its independence in 1975, always considering Vietnam a model for learning from experience and wishing to continuously consolidate, upgrade, and deepen the relationship between the two countries more substantially.
The Minister thanked the Prime Minister for his direction on the two sides soon holding a first meeting of the Joint Committee with the participation of relevant ministries and branches to discuss cooperation contents, remove obstacles; prepare well for high-level delegation exchanges in 2025, contributing to bringing the relationship between the two countries to new heights; hoping that Vietnam will continue to cooperate with Timor-Leste in the process of transforming and diversifying the economy, through developing agriculture, aquaculture, tourism, food processing... towards sustainable development.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that Vietnam will continue to support Timor-Leste in effectively participating in ASEAN activities, keeping up with the development progress of the entire bloc; believing that Timor-Leste's participation will open a new chapter for ASEAN, helping the Community to be more complete, and a driving force for ASEAN to develop more strongly and unitedly.
