Review on external affairs: ASEAN-US Special Summit, FM Bui Thanh Son meets US Secretary of State
Review on a number of news headlines on external affairs from May 9- May 14 by The World and Viet Nam Report.
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| Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh meets with US President Joe Biden. (Photo: VNA) |
Leaders’ activities
On the morning of May 11 (local time), the plane carrying Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the Vietnamese delegation landed at Andrews Military Airport in Washington D.C, starting the trip to attend the ASEAN-US Special Summit and a working visit to the United States and the United Nations from May 11-17.
On May 13, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and ASEAN leaders attended the official sessions of the ASEAN-US Special Summit.
On this occasion, the Prime Minister met with President Pro Tempore Patrick Leahy and key Senators from the Committees on Foreign Affairs, Appropriations, Justice, Finance, Energy and Natural Resources of the US Senate; meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen; meeting with Lao Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh; together with leaders of ASEAN countries had a working lunch with Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and other US lawmakers; received Mr. Scott A. Nathan, Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC); with ASEAN Leaders to attend the meeting with the US business community; attended the banquet hosted by US President Joe Biden at the White House.
Within the framework of his working visit to the United States, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with President Joe Biden to discuss bilateral relations between Viet Nam and the United States, as well as regional and international issues; received US Secretary of State Antony Blinken; US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen; giving presentations at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS); receiving leaders of the US and international corporations; visited, delivered presentation and attended policy dialogue at Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
On the afternoon of May 13, at the Presidential Palace, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc received Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto. The visit aimed at promoting the bilateral defense cooperation relationship to become further substantive and effective, actively contributing to the Viet Nam-Indonesia strategic partnership for peace, prosperity and development of each country, as well as of the region and the world at large, and strengthening trust between the two countries.
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| President Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) shakes hands with visiting Indonesian Minister of Defense Prabowo Subianto. (Photo: VNA) |
In the morning of the same day, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc received Comrade Viengthong Siphandon, Secretary of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and President of the Lao People's Supreme Court on the occasion of the visit of the Lao People's Supreme Court delegation to Viet Nam.
On the morning of May 11, Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh received LEGO Group Chief Operations Officer Carsten Rasmussen on a business trip to Viet Nam to inspect the construction site for the Group's project with a total investment of more than 1 billion USD in Binh Duong province.
Activities of Foreign Affairs Minister
On the morning of May 13, while accompanying Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to attend the ASEAN-US Special Summit and pay a working visit to the United States and the United Nations, in Washington D.C., Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son had meetings with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. The two sides shared the pleasure that US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had a meeting on the sidelines of the Summit. They engaged in practical discussions on the bilateral relations between the two countries and regional and international issues of shared concern.
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| Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son (R) meets US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. (Photo: VNA) |
On May 11, in Washington D.C., Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son and Foreign Ministers of ASEAN countries reviewed the preparations for the ASEAN-US Special Summit to take place from May 12-13 in Washington D.C, USA.
In the interview with The World and Viet Nam Report (TG&VN) about Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to the United States and the United Nations from May 11 to 17, Vietnamese Ambassador to the United States Nguyen Quoc Dung highlighted the importance and significance of the Prime Minister’s trip to the US, including multilateral and bilateral activities. On his part, US Ambassador to Viet Nam Marc E. Knapper shared the significance of the US-ASEAN Special Summit and assessed the US relationship with Viet Nam as well as with ASEAN.
Bilateral activities
At the invitation of President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou paid an official visit to Viet Nam from May 15-19. In an interview with TG&VN, Greek Ambassador to Viet Nam Georgios Stilianopoulos highlighted the importance of the visit and expressed his expectation for new developments in cooperation for economy, trade and tourism in the future.
On the occasion of the official visit of National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue to Lao PDR from May 15-17, Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Nguyen Ba Hung shared the significance of the visit and important highlights in cooperation between the two countries’ National Assemblies.
On the occasion of her two-day visit to Viet Nam on May 12-13, Norwegian State Secretary for International Development Bjørg Sandkjær gave an exclusive interview with TG&VN about the potential for cooperation between Norway and Viet Nam, especially those in the fields of green transition, combating climate change.
On the afternoon of May 11, Permanent Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Minh Vu and New Zealand Ambassador to Viet Nam Tredene Dobson announced a 2 million NZD contribution from the government of New Zealand to support Viet Nam’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
On the morning of May 9, Deputy Foreign Minister Ha Kim Ngoc paid tribute and signed the condolences book to former President of the National Assembly of People's Power of Cuba Ricardo Alarcon de Quesada at the Cuban Embassy in Ha Noi.
Multilateral activities
On the occasion of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’ working visit the United States and the United Nations (UN), Vietnamese Ambassador to the UN Dang Hoang Giang gave an interview about Viet Nam-UN relations and prospects for cooperation between the two sides.
On May 9, the Group of Friends for Global Development Initiatives (GDI) held a high-level virtual meeting with the theme “Deepening Cooperation under Global Development Initiative for Accelerated Implementation of the 2030 Agenda”. Addressing the event, Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, Permanent Representative of Viet Nam to the UN, underlined that without peace, SDGs will not be achieved, adding that maintaining peace and stability is a prerequisite for post-pandemic recovery and development.
Speaking at the virtual celebration of International Vesak Day on May 13, Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang highlighted Lord Buddha’s message on peace, compassion and harmony. The International Vesak Day is not only an occasion to celebrate Lord Buddha's birth, enlightenment and parinirvana, but also an opportunity for all to reflect and dedicate to his thoughts and teaching.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson
At the Foreign Ministry’s regular press conference on May 12, answering a question about Viet Nam’s provision of 500,000 USD in humanitarian aid for Ukraine, Vice Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Doan Khac Viet said:
“Viet Nam shares the international community’s deep concern over the humanitarian situation caused by recent developments in Ukraine. Viet Nam perceives that it is necessary to immediately end the use of force, guarantee security and safety for civilians, protect essential infrastructure, respect and comply with international humanitarian law, and create conditions for humanitarian access and the evacuation of foreign communities, including Vietnamese people, in Ukraine.
Viet Nam supports humanitarian activities by countries, the United Nations and international partners to assist people affected by the Ukraine conflict.
With this spirit, in response to the UN appeal, Viet Nam decided to donate 500,000 USD, including 100,000 USD to the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), 100,000 USD to the World Health Organisation (WHO), another 100,000 USD to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and 200,000 USD to the Ukrainian Red Cross Society via the Vietnam Red Cross Society to help deliver humanitarian aid and assistance for people impacted by the Ukraine conflict.”
At the regular press conference of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vice Spokesperson Doan Khac Viet informed about the incident that a fishing vessel in Quang Ngai was robbed by a foreign fishing vessel in the Spratly islands and the recognition of vaccine passports.
Other activities
Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh has just signed Decree No. 26/2022/ND-CP prescribing conditions for appointing foreign honorary consuls in Viet Nam, which will take effect from June 1, 2022. The Decree aims to detail the implementation of Clause 2, Article 36 of the Ordinance in 1993 on the privileges and immunities for diplomatic missions, consular posts and representative offices of international organizations in Viet Nam, the procedures to accept honorary consular officers and their appointing conditions.
Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh has just signed Decision 559/QD-TTg on May 9, 2022, appointing Mr. Ha Kim Ngoc, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, as new Chairman of the Viet Nam National Commission for UNESCO, to replace Mr. Dang Hoang Giang.
Politburo member, President of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics (HCMA), Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council Nguyen Xuan Thang, had a working visit to Israel from May 10-14.
During the two days of May 12 and 13 in Hanoi, relevant agencies of Viet Nam (chaired by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment) and Norway (chaired by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs), with the support of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), co-organized the International Conference on Sustainable Ocean Economy and Climate Change Adaptation.
On the morning of May 13, Defense Minister General Phan Van Giang hosted a welcome ceremony and held talks with Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto who was on an official visit to Viet Nam.
(Source: TG&VN)
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