Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. on the afternoon of May 26 on the sidelines of the 46th ASEAN Summit and related high-level meetings in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

President Marcos Jr. extended his deepest condolences to the State, Government, and people of Vietnam over the passing of former President Tran Duc Luong.

He spoke highly of the positive developments in bilateral relations, noting that Vietnam is the only ASEAN member with which the Philippines has established a strategic partnership. He expressed hope that the two nations will continue to expand comprehensive cooperation and elevate ties to a new level.

The Philippine leader underscored the great potential for bilateral cooperation in trade, economics, defence and security, agriculture, rice trade, and renewable energy.

For his part, PM Chinh congratulated the Philippines on the successful midterm elections, in which the ruling coalition led by  the Federal Party of the Philippines (Partido Federal ng Pilipinas-PFP) secured a majority in the House of Representatives. He highlighted the significance of 2025, marking a decade since both nations established their strategic partnership, and looked ahead to the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2026.

Building on this strong foundation, PM Chinh proposed that the two sides step up cooperation in key areas, prioritise high-level and multi-level delegation exchanges, and promote bilateral trade with a view to raising turnover to US$10 billion in the near future. He also called for deeper collaboration on food security and climate change response.

Touching on regional and international issues of shared interest, the two leaders agreed to continue supporting each other at multilateral forums and to work closely with ASEAN member states and China to speed up substantive and effective negotiations on a Code of Conduct (COC) in the East Sea, in line with international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Philippines looks forward to fostering cooperation with Vietnam: Ambassador

On the occasion of the New Year 2025, Philippine Ambassador to Vietnam Meynardo Los Banos Montealegre spoke to Vietnam News Agency about the major achievements in Vietnam-Philippines relations in 2024 and prospects for 2025 as the two countries celebrate the 10th anniversary of their Strategic Partnership.