President Luong Cuong holds talks with the Sultan of Brunei to enhance effectiveness and substance of bilateral ties
WVR - On the morning of December 1, immediately following the state-level welcoming ceremony held solemnly at the Presidential Palace, President Luong Cuong held talks with Sultan of Brunei Darussalam Haji Hassanal Bolkiah.
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| President Luong Cuong and Sultan of Brunei Darussalam Haji Hassanal Bolkiah pose for a photo before the talks. (Photo: Thanh Long) |
During the talks, President Luong Cuong warmly welcomed Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei Darussalam on his state visit to Vietnam; emphasizing that the visit holds significant importance, creating new momentum to promote the Vietnam-Brunei Comprehensive Partnership to become more substantive and effective, benefiting the development and prosperity of both nations.
Congratulating Brunei on its socio-economic development achievements, particularly the effective implementation of its national development vision up to 2035 (Wawasan 2035), which continues to elevate Brunei's position in the region and globally, the President affirmed that Vietnam values and wishes to further enhance cooperative relations with Brunei.
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| Overview of the Talks. (Photo: Thanh Long) |
Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah expressed his pleasure at returning to Vietnam; sincerely thanked General Secretary To Lam, President Luong Cuong, senior leaders, and the people of Vietnam for their warm and respectful reception for him and the high-level Brunei delegation; and highly appreciated Vietnam's achievements in nation-building and development, as well as its outstanding diplomatic accomplishments in recent times.
Sharing Brunei's future development directions, focusing on areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), green economy, and circular economy, the Sultan affirmed his commitment to further developing the Comprehensive Partnership between the two countries across various fields, making it more effective and substantive. On this occasion, the Sultan extended his deepest condolences and inquiries to the people of Vietnam, especially those in the central provinces, who were recently heavily affected by floods.
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| President Luong Cuong speaking at the talks. (Photo: Thanh Long) |
In a friendly and open atmosphere, President Luong Cuong and Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah exchanged views and assessed bilateral cooperation and regional and international issues of mutual concern.
The two leaders praised the strong and stable development of bilateral relations in recent times, especially following the upgrade to a Comprehensive Partnership in 2019. Political and diplomatic relations have been increasingly strengthened through maintaining high-level exchanges and contacts at all levels; bilateral cooperation mechanisms have been effectively implemented; and both sides actively coordinated to implement the Action Program for the 2023-2027 period.
Defense-security cooperation is a highlight in bilateral relations, with close cooperation between defense forces and mutual support at multilateral defense forums, especially within the framework of ASEAN and ASEAN .
Economic cooperation has developed positively, with bilateral trade turnover reaching the target of 500 million USD ahead of schedule by 2025. Cooperation in fields such as agriculture, energy, education and training, and people-to-people exchanges has also been enhanced.
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| President Luong Cuong and the high-level Vietnamese delegation. (Photo: Thanh Long) |
Regarding the future development direction of bilateral relations, the two leaders agreed to enhance the effectiveness of the Comprehensive Partnership by increasing high-level visits and contacts at all levels, strengthening relations across state, government, parliamentary, and people-to-people channels to enhance political trust and mutual understanding; continuing to effectively implement the Joint Committee on Bilateral Cooperation mechanism; and jointly coordinating to effectively implement the Action Program for the Vietnam-Brunei Darussalam Comprehensive Partnership for the 2023-2027 period.
President Luong Cuong and Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah affirmed that there is still much potential and room for economic relations between the two countries; agreed to strive to double bilateral trade turnover as soon as possible through trade and investment promotion measures, enhancing business connectivity, exchanging information on policies and markets, and promoting cooperation in new areas such as digital economy, green transition, and circular economy.
Vietnam encourages Brunei investors to participate in projects such as the construction of an International Financial Center, infrastructure, energy, tourism, and services in Vietnam. Brunei agreed to share experiences with Vietnam in the Halal sector, consider mutual recognition of Halal certificates, and develop projects for the production of Halal food and products in Vietnam.
Both sides also agreed that Brunei will continue to facilitate Vietnamese companies in providing oil and gas services and participating in oil and gas exploration and exploitation activities in Brunei's waters; encouraging Brunei corporations to invest in oil and gas exploration and exploitation in Vietnam.
The two leaders affirmed the importance of defense and security cooperation in the context of regional challenges, agreeing to share experiences and expand cooperation in combating organized crime such as drug smuggling, human trafficking, illegal migration, terrorism, cybercrime, and money laundering.
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| Sultan of Brunei Darussalam Haji Hassanal Bolkiah speaking at the talks. (Photo: Thanh Long) |
The Sultan of Brunei congratulated Vietnam on the successful organization of the Signing Ceremony of the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime in Hanoi and agreed to ratify the Convention soon, contributing to its entry into force.
Both sides also agreed that maritime cooperation is an important area to be promoted in the future, welcoming the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on Fisheries Cooperation and the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Using Hotlines to Exchange Information on Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing; agreeing to effectively implement agreements, dialogue, and share experiences and information, as well as address maritime security challenges to ensure maritime security and safety.
The two leaders also agreed to expand cooperation in other important areas such as education, culture, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges to enhance connectivity and mutual understanding, contributing to the comprehensive promotion of bilateral relations.
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| This visit by the Sultan of Brunei reaffirms the determination of both countries to continuously strengthen and deepen friendly relations and cooperation across all fields. (Photo: Thanh Long) |
Discussing international and regional issues, both sides appreciated the regular and positive coordination and mutual support at multilateral mechanisms, especially at the United Nations and ASEAN; agreeing to strengthen solidarity and unity within ASEAN, contributing to maintaining peace, stability, and regional development.
Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah affirmed support for Vietnam in its role as the rotating Chair of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in 2026 and successfully hosting APEC 2027.
Regarding the East Sea issue, both sides committed to maintaining and promoting peace, security, stability, safety, and freedom of navigation and overflight; calling on parties to exercise restraint, refrain from threats or use of force, fully respect diplomatic and legal processes, and resolve disputes by peaceful means, based on the fundamental principles of international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS).
The talks took place in a friendly and mutual understanding atmosphere. On this occasion, Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah extended a cordial invitation to President Luong Cuong for a state visit to Brunei at a convenient time. President Luong Cuong sincerely thanked him and extended an invitation to the Sultan to attend APEC 2027 in Vietnam.
On this occasion, both sides issued a Joint Statement on the results of the visit and signed three cooperation documents between the two countries in the fields of maritime cooperation, fisheries, and cooperation against IUU.
