Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh welcomes President Jose Ramos-Horta of Timor-Leste – Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh welcomed and appreciated the second visit to Vietnam by President Jose Ramos-Horta, highlighting the importance of this trip in marking over 20 years of diplomatic relations and fostering political trust between the two countries.
The Prime Minister congratulated Timor-Leste on its significant achievements in nation-building and development, and its progress towards becoming a full member of ASEAN. He expressed his confidence in Timor-Leste’s ability to realize its “2011-2030 Strategic Development Plan” and further integrate into the international community.
President Jose Ramos-Horta expressed his gratitude for the warm and friendly reception by the Vietnamese leaders and people.
President Jose Ramos-Horta expressed his gratitude for the warm reception – Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac
Congratulating Vietnam on its remarkable development achievements, the President of Timor-Leste praised the leadership and governance of Vietnam’s generations of leaders. He admired Vietnam not only as a model of post-war reconciliation and recovery but also as a miracle of economic development, with impressive nation-building and robust economic growth. He thanked Vietnam for its consistent support to Timor-Leste in its nation-building efforts and ASEAN accession process.
Both sides acknowledged the positive developments in the friendly cooperation between Vietnam and Timor-Leste. High-level exchanges and contacts have been maintained, and trade and investment cooperation has been promoted. The two-way trade turnover in the first five months of 2024 grew by nearly 30% compared to the same period last year, reaching over $6 million. Viettel Group’s effective investment and business activities in Timor-Leste (Telemor) have contributed positively to the country’s socio-economic development.
The two leaders agreed on the need to strengthen political trust through high-level and all-level exchanges and contacts, effectively implement agreements at the senior level, and continue to finalize the legal framework for bilateral cooperation. They also emphasized the importance of exploiting the vast potential for cooperation between the two countries.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh proposed early renewal or signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding on rice trade – Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac
Recognizing rice as a key commodity in bilateral trade, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh proposed an early renewal or signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding on rice trade, contributing to ensuring food security. He encouraged Timor-Leste to increase imports of Vietnamese goods that meet the needs and preferences of its people, such as textiles, footwear, beverages, dairy products, processed food, and agricultural and aquatic products.
The Prime Minister requested that Timor-Leste soon address the difficulties and obstacles faced by Vietnamese businesses in the country and create more favorable conditions for Vietnamese enterprises to expand their investment and business, especially in telecommunications, digital services, and oil and gas exploration and exploitation.
Expressing his deep impression of Vietnam’s successful macroeconomic management and international integration, President Jose Ramos-Horta supported the proposals of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. He hoped that Vietnam would provide support to Timor-Leste in areas of its strength, such as agriculture and food security, infrastructure development, education and training, human resource development, healthcare, poverty reduction, and increased investment presence in Timor-Leste.
President Jose Ramos-Horta hoped for Vietnam’s support in areas of its strength and increased investment presence in Timor-Leste – Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac
The two leaders agreed to promote cooperation in other important fields, such as security, defense, information and communication, education and training, and to take advantage of new trends like green economy, clean energy, and innovation. They also emphasized the importance of people-to-people exchanges through tourism development and cultural exchanges.
On international and regional issues, the two sides agreed to continue coordinating and supporting each other in multilateral organizations. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh appreciated the determination and efforts of Timor-Leste in implementing the “Roadmap for Timor-Leste to Become a Full Member of ASEAN” and affirmed Vietnam’s consistent support for Timor-Leste to become a full member of ASEAN as soon as possible. President Jose Ramos-Horta affirmed that Timor-Leste is ready to support Vietnam’s candidacy in all multilateral, regional, and international mechanisms and organizations.
The two sides also committed to continuing to uphold ASEAN’s principled stance on the South China Sea issue and supporting efforts to maintain peace, stability, security, and safety, as well as freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea. They emphasized the importance of resolving disputes by peaceful means, based on international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), fully and effectively implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), and creating a favorable environment for the negotiation of a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC), contributing to the maintenance of peace, stability, and development in the region.
On this occasion, President Jose Ramos-Horta invited Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to visit Timor-Leste. The Prime Minister thanked him for the invitation and will arrange the visit at a suitable time.
