PM Chinh holds meetings with world leaders on G20 Summit sidelines

The Vietnamese Government chief used the occasions to affirm Vietnam’s commitment to stepping up international cooperation and developing the relations with foreign countries and international organisations in a deeper and more substantive manner.

The foreign leaders glowingly spoke of the socio-economic achievements Vietnam has recorded over the recent past as well as the nation’s role and position in the international arena. They pledged to continue working hand in hand to boost all around collaboration with Vietnam and wished to visit the country soon.

Meeting with General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and Chinese President Xi Jinping, PM Chinh stated that Vietnam regards developing the cooperation ties and friendship with China as a strategic choice and a top priority in its foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification and multilateralization of external relations.

He voiced his hope that both sides  will continue to boost closer coordination  to carry out high-level perceptions, joint statements, and documents signed during high-level visits over the past time.

Xi recalled his meeting with Vietnamese President Luong Cuong at the 2024 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Week in Lima, Peru from November 12 – 16, saying it is essential for both nations to maintain regular high-level contacts, reflecting their close and trustworthy relationship.

He hailed the robust collaboration between the two Governments over the past time, saying he expects more practical measures to fast-track the implementation of mutual agreements and perceptions. He also called for substantive cooperation, particularly in the construction of three railway lines connecting the two countries.

The top Chinese leader said he hopes that the two sides will continue to off mutual support and coordinate at multilateral forums and invited Vietnam’s key leaders to visit China at an appropriate time.

In a brief exchange with US President Joe Biden, PM Chinh expressed gratitude for the US President's firm support of the Vietnam-US ties, hoping that Biden will continue making contributions to bilateral ties regardless of his future role.

Biden highlighted PM Chinh as a good friend of the US and showed his delight over the elevation of the bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership for peace, cooperation, and sustainable development during his tenure. He affirmed his unwavering assistance for the Vietnam – US relationship.

At the meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Government leader proposed three priority orientations to advance the Vietnam – India comprehensive strategic partnership in a more effective fashion, one of which is to incentivize Indian investments in Vietnam’s strategic sectors like transport, logistics, advanced technology and renewable energy.

The second orientation is to enhance business-to-business connections and government – business dialogues to seek cooperation opportunities and deal with challenges, and the third one is to intensify people-to-people exchange.

He invited Modi to visit Vietnam and attend the fourth Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G) Summit in Hanoi next year.

The Indian President accentuated Vietnam's significance in India's external policy and said he will consider visiting Vietnam in the year ahead.

Meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru, PM Chinh said he wishes that both sides will continue consolidating their friendship and political trust by maintaining regular visits at all levels.

PM Chinh also sought continued new-generation Official Development Assistance (ODA) loans from the Japanese government and better living and working conditions for the Vietnamese community in Japan.

The Japanese PM consented to ramp up bilateral cooperation across politics, economy, trade and investment while pledging to offer favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community there.

At a meeting with the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s President Yoon Suk Yeol, PM Chinh put forward three key proposals to foster relations between the two countries. These included continuing to promote the exchange of high and all-level delegations and meetings, the RoK’s continued provision of large-scale Official Development Assistance (ODA) for Vietnam to develop infrastructure and address climate change, and enhancing economic and trade cooperation. The Vietnamese PM also set a target for bilateral trade to reach US$100 billion by 2025 and US$150 billion by 2030.

President Yoon agreed with these proposals and expressed his readiness to welcome key Vietnamese leaders to visit the RoK in 2025, while instructing relevant agencies to collaborate closely with Vietnam to implement the agreements reached during recent high-level visits.

Meeting with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, the Vietnamese cabinet leader congratulated him on his election as the President of Indonesia for the 2024-2029 tenure.

Chinh expected that Vietnam and Indonesia will upgrade their strategic partnership in 2025, marking 70 years of diplomatic ties, and elevating bilateral trade to US$18 billion. The two sides should focus on strengthening business exchanges and investment opportunities, particularly in the Halal market.

President Subianto agreed with the proposals and expressed Indonesia’s wish to upgrade ties with Vietnam, suggesting stepping up bilateral and multilateral cooperation to address regional and global challenges.

Meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, both leaders showed their satisfaction over the results of Vietnamese Party General Secretary To Lam’s recent official visit to France, during which the bilateral relationship was upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership. The two leaders underscored the need to continue exchanges and concretise cooperation mechanisms and agreements in all fields.

PM Chinh praised France’s role and global initiatives on climate change, while President Macron voiced his hope to deepen cooperation in digital transformation and artificial intelligence (AI).

Meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the two leaders discussed a score of measures to take bilateral relations to new heights and deal with regional and international issues of shared concern. They examned ways to make positive contributions to maintaining peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.

Meeting with UN Secretary-General António Guterres, PM Chinh recalled their previous meeting at the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summits in Laos. He glowingly spoke of the UN’s role in maintaining global peace and stability and thanked the organisation for its valuable support to Vietnam’s development over the past 40 years.

Guterres congratulated Vietnam on the country’s economic achievements and applauded its role as a model of peace and sustainable development, describing Vietnam as a bright spot in international relations for other nations to learn from.

Meeting with President of the European Commission (EC) Ursula von der Leyen, PM Chinh congratulated Ursula von der Leyen on her re-election as President of the EC and expressed gratitude for the EU’s assistance to help Vietnam overcome consequences of Typhoon Yagi.

To further propel EU-Vietnam relations forward, the Vietnamese Government chief set out three important directions, namely intensifying the exchange of delegations, especially at the high level, settling major issues in the bilateral relationship, including the EC’s removal of “yellow card” on illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing against Vietnam, and the EU’s encouragement to its remaining nine member states to ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).

He asked the EU to continue to maintain ODA for Vietnam and provide financial and technical support to help Vietnam adapt to the new EU regulations on sustainable development, along with assistance in capital, technology, and human resources training to help Vietnam effectively implement the Political Declaration on establishing the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP).

Ursula von der Leyen agreed with the proposals and underscored the need to step up economic, trade and investment cooperation and optimize the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

She suggested the two sides boost collaboration to promote the efficiency of ASEAN-EU cooperation. She expressed her hope that Vietnam will back the EU's initiatives on peace, stability, and development cooperation in the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions.

On this occasion, Chinh invited Ursula von der Leyen to pay an official visit to Vietnam and attend the 4th Green Growth and Global Goals Forum (P4G) Summit, which will be hosted by Vietnam from April 14-17, 2025.

In addition, PM Chinh also had positive and constructive discussions with leaders of Malaysia, the UK, Italy, Turkey, Portugal, Mexico, South Africa, Angola, Tanzania, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and key international organisations, including the UN Trade and Development Agency, the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB), and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).