Review on external from Nov. 7-13: German Chancellor’s visit to Vietnam, Prime Minister's busy week in Cambodia
WVR - Review on a number of news headlines on external affairs from November 7-13 by The World and Vietnam Report.
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| 40th, 41st ASEAN Summits officially opened in Phnom Penh. (Photo: VNA) |
Leaders’ activities
On November 10, at the Presidential Palace, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc received Politburo member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Head of the Organization Committee of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Sisay Leudetmounsone. President Phuc suggested Vietnamese and Lao Parties’ Organisation Commissions deepen their political ties toward effectiveness and substantive outcomes, support each other, and exchange experience in Party building. On the same day, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue received Politburo member Sisay Ludetmounsone.
On November 9, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc received Governor of South Australia State Frances Adamson in Hanoi. President Phuc affirmed that Vietnam always attaches great importance to promoting the strategic partnership with Australia, an important development partner of Vietnam in the South Pacific and also a comprehensive strategic partner of ASEAN.
On November 13, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hosted a welcome ceremony for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz who is paying an official visit to Vietnam. This is Mr. Olaf Scholz's first visit to Vietnam as Chancellor of Germany.
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| On November 13, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hosted a welcome ceremony for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for an official visit to Vietnam. (Photo: Nguyen Hong) |
During the week, at the invitation of the Prime Minister of Cambodia, ASEAN Chair 2022, Samdech Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the Vietnamese delegation have an official visit to Cambodia from November 8-9, attending the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and related Summits from November 10-13.
On November 8, after the official welcome ceremony, Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held talks and witnessed the signing of cooperation documents, attending Vietnam-Cambodia Trade and Investment Promotion Forum.
During the visit, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh called on King Norodom Sihmoni of Cambodia; had meetings with President of the Senate of Cambodia Samdech Say Chhum, President of the National Assembly of Cambodia Samdech Heng Samrin; received Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Men Sam An; visited Cho Ray Hospital-Phnom Penh and Vietnam-Cambodia Telecommunications Company (Metfone); met with Embassy staff, business representatives and the Vietnamese community in Cambodia.
On November 9, 2022, Vietnam and Cambodia issued Joint Statement on the occasion of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s two-day official visit to Cambodia, affirming the resolve to further consolidate and develop their friendship and cooperation in an increasingly substantive and effective manner.
From November 10-13, along with attending the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and nearly 20 related Summits; including ASEAN Summits with partners as China, the United States, Japan, Korea, India, Australia, the United Nations, etc, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had 16 bilateral meetings with leaders of ASEAN countries and ASEAN partners such as Prime Minister of Laos Phankham Viphavanh, Premier of China Li Keqiang, Prime Minister of Japan Kishida Fumio, President of Republic of Korea Yoon Suk Yeol, President of the United States Joe Biden, Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister of Thailand Prayut Chan-o-Cha, Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, President of the Philippines Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, President of Indonesia Joko Widodo, Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Malaysia Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun and Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres, President of the World Economic Forum.
On November 8, President of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue received comrade Homero Acosta Álvarez, member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary General of the National Assembly and Cuban State Council who is on a working visit to Vietnam.
Activities of the Foreign Minister
During the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son had seperate meetings with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (November 12), Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba (November 11), Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo (November 9).
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| Vietnam-Philippines strategic partnership sound progress: Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son and Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo at their meeting in Cambodia on November 9, 2022, within the framework of the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and related Summits.( Photo: WVR) |
Earlier, on November 10, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son attended preparatory meetings of ASEAN Foreign Ministers in Phnom Penh to review the preparations for the 40th, 41st and 41st ASEAN Summits and related Summits.
Bilateral activities
From November 8-9, on the occasion of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's official visit to Cambodia, attending the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and related summits from November 10-13, Standing Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Minh Vu gave an interview on the significance of the visit to Vietnam-Cambodia relations and the importance of the ASEAN Summits.
On the same occasion, Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Nguyen Huy Tang shared about Vietnam's contributions to the regional organization in the year of Cambodian ASEAN Chair 2022, as well as the host country's organizational work.
On November 11, in an interview on the threshold of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s official visit to Vietnam (November 13-14), Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Vu Quang Minh stressed that the visit is of great significance, as Vietnam and Germany are successfully implementing Strategic Partnership Agreement over the past decade as well as gaining great achievements in economic and trade cooperation after more than two years enforcing the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). The Ambassador believed that the visit will open up a new chapter in the two countries’ friendship and cooperation, with the joint commitment and determination to lift the ties to a new height.
On November 11, the event "Meet Korea 2022" took place in Thu Dau Mot city, Binh Duong province. The event is part of series of activities to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Korea organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with Binh Duong province.
On November 8, speaking at the 5th Anniversary of the Vietnam-Canada Comprehensive Partnership, Canadian Ambassador to Vietnam Shawn Perry Steil affirmed that Canada is committed to and continues to promote greater cooperation within Vietnam in the field of defense and security with priority given to training for Vietnamese armed forces, especially in peacekeeping, as Vietnam is to play an increasingly active role in the world.
On November 8, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Pakistan-Vietnam relations, talking with the World & Vietnam Newspaper, Pakistani Ambassador to Vietnam Samina Mehtab expressed her belief that after half a decade journey with various milestones, Pakistan-Vietnam relations will continue to move forward with new with new initiatives to fully explore the abundant potentials between the two countries.
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| Conference reviews 50 years of Vietnam-Pakistan diplomatic ties: Participants at the conference posed for photo. (Photo: Minh Quan) |
On the same day, the Embassy of Pakistan in collaboration with the Institute for Indian and Southwest Asian Studies (VIISAS) under the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS) organized an international conference reviewed 50 years of Vietnam-Pakistan relations in the hybrid format. The event was attended by Assistant Foreign Minister Le Thi Thu Hang, Pakistani Ambassador to Vietnam Samina Mehtab, Vice Director in charge of the Institute for Indian and Southwest Asian Studies, Dr. Pham Cao Cuong, and many foreign representatives, representatives of Vietnamese related ministries, scholars and media.
Multilateral activities
On November 10, in Hanoi, the Ministry of National Defense of Vietnam held the 23rd Conference of Army Commanders of ASEAN countries (ACAMM-23) with the theme "ASEAN Army Cooperation for Peace".
On November 9, in Hanoi, the 10th Conference of ASEAN Senior Non-Commissioned Officers (ASMAM-10) took place under the chair of Colonel Nguyen Le Phuong, Deputy Director of the Institute for Defence International Relations under the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence.
On November 9, Ambassador Vu Ho, Head of the ASEAN SOM of Vietnam, led the Vietnamese delegation to attend the meeting of ASEAN Senior Officials in preparation for the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and the ASEAN Summits.
On November 7, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Session 77 discussed the topic of improving the operational efficiency of the UN General Assembly. At the session, Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations (UN), emphasized the need to improve the performance of the UNGA, a deliberative, decision-making and widely representative body of the United Nations, and to ensure the transparency in the making of decisions and resolutions.
On the same day, at the meeting of the UN Special Political and Decolonisation Committee (Fourth Committee), the 77th UN General Assembly, Vietnam called on countries and donors to maintain and increase their financial support to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Counselor Do Ngoc Thuy, a representative of the Vietnamese Permanent Mission to the UN, stressed the need to ensure funding for Palestine refugees and to contribute to stabilising the situation in the area. However, the support should not be considered a replacement of a long-term solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson
On November 9, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson of Le Thi Thu Hang updated information concerning Myanmar-flagged fishing vessel LADY R3, which was carrying the 305 Sri Lankans to Canada, broke down and drifted at sea about 258 nautical miles to the southeast of southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau province’s Vung Tau cape.
According to the Spokesperson, more than 300 Sri Lankans are in stable conditions and have been provided with temporary accommodations. The Foreign Ministry informed the Sri Lanka Embassy in Hanoi and it was closely coordinating with certain international organisations, relevant agencies and Ba Ria-Vung Tau province to provide with humanitarian aid in line with Vietnamese law and international practice.
