Khiem congratulated Turkey on its admission to the ASEAN Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC), describing it as an important step toward stronger development in relations between the country and the bloc.

Turkish Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, spoke highly of Vietnam’s assumption of the ASEAN chairmanship and successful hosting of the 43^rd ASEAN Foreign Ministerial Meeting (AMM-43) and related meetings.

Both sides noted that bilateral relations are growing well, with two-way trade reaching US$500 million in 2009.

They discussed measures to further promote multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries, including the exchange of visits at all levels and business delegations, to achieve the target of US$1 billion in trade turnover in the years to come. They also touched upon ways of stepping up cooperation between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs.

Receiving Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Khiem applauded the Russian Federation’s participation in activities within the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and its efforts to strengthen Russia-ASEAN relations. 

Both host and guest exchanged views on measures to foster the Vietnam-Russia strategic partnership and comprehensive cooperation, as well as to increase their coordination at regional and international forums.

They highly valued the results of a Russia visit in early July by Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh. 

They also agreed to make thorough preparations for the upcoming visit to Vietnam by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and work together to successfully hold the second ASEAN-Russia Summit. 

On this occasion, Khiem and Lavrov signed a cooperation plan between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs for the 2011-2012 period.

During a meeting with his Canadian counterpart Lawrence Cannon, Khiem praised Canada’s accession to the TAC, and its strong commitment to maintaining peace, stability and development in the region. 

The two sides acknowledge the good coordination at multilateral forums such as the United Nations, ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and recently at the G-20 Summit in Toronto, Canada.

They expressed delight at positive developments in bilateral relationship, especially in economies, trade and investment, and agreed to speed up talks to soon sign a Bilateral Investment Protection Agreement (BIPA) between the two nations. 

Also on July 22, Deputy Foreign Minister Dao Viet Trung received his Sri Lankan counterpart Gitanjana Gunawardena.

The two deputy ministers agreed to effectively deploy agreements reached at the second meeting of the Vietnam-Sri Lanka Joint Committee in August 2009 and during the Sri Lankan President’s visit to Vietnam in October 2009.