Vietnam, Ireland beef up bilateral cooperation

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh on May 22 held phone talks with his Irish counterpart Simon Coveney to discuss measures to enhance bilateral cooperation as well as coordination between the two nations at multilateral forums.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh

Minh shared Vietnam’s measures to curb COVID-19 and develop the economy in the post-pandemic period.

 He affirmed that Vietnam is willing to share experience and coordinate with Ireland to enhance medical capacity in response to the pandemic and support each other in citizen protection.

Coveney highly appreciated Vietnam’s strong measures and active roles as ASEAN Chair 2020 and non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for 2020-2021 in promoting regional and global cooperation to push back the disease.

He suggested the two countries further step up partnership in the cooperation frameworks between the European Union (EU) and Vietnam, and between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the EU, as well as at international forums, especially the United Nations, regarding issues of mutual concern.

Minh affirmed that Vietnam is a responsible partner of the international community, and always closely works with partners, including Ireland, at multilateral forums, to make more contributions to peacekeeping, stability, respect for international law, and response to global issues.

Minh thanked Ireland for supporting the signing and ratification of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA). He recommended the two sides to cooperate to optimise opportunities from the deals, thus helping the two economies to overcome the current challenges.

The two officials recognised positive progress in the bilateral relations and agreed to jointly organise activities marking the 25th founding anniversary of Vietnam-Ireland diplomatic ties (1996-2021), while enhancing multifaceted cooperation, especially in economy, trade and development cooperation./.

VNA