On November 5, Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Minh Hang held meetings with Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, Secretary‑General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC); D.N. Dhungyel, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Bhutan; Ahmed bin Mohammed Al‑Sayed, Minister of State for Foreign Trade Affairs of Qatar; Tariq Alhamad, Deputy Minister for International Affairs at the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development of Saudi Arabia

During the meetings, Hang briefed her counterparts on Vietnam’s socio‑economic development and outlined key development orientations for the coming period.

The Vietnamese diplomat affirmed Vietnam’s determination to achieve an 8% GDP growth target in 2025 and double‑digit growth in the coming years.

To reach this goal, in addition to traditional areas of cooperation such as trade and investment, Vietnam seeks partnerships in digital transformation, science and technology development, innovation, and green transition, targeting sustainable and inclusive development.

Expressing pleasure at the meeting with GCC Secretary‑General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, Deputy FM Nguyen Minh Hang affirmed that Vietnam values its all-around cooperation with GCC countries and called for enhanced exchanges and accelerated negotiations on the Vietnam-GCC Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to boost bilateral trade and investment in line with both sides’ development vision and orientation.

To better leverage the potential and strengths of Vietnam and GCC countries, she proposed expanding cooperation in energy, Halal industry, and people‑to‑people exchanges.

Agreeing with Deputy FM Nguyen Minh Hang, GCC Secretary‑General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi expressed admiration for Vietnam’s achievements over 40 years of carrying out the Doi Moi (Renewal) process and welcomed the country’s development vision and goals.

He affirmed support for accelerating negotiations on the Vietnam-GCC FTA and expanding cooperation between Vietnam and the GCC Secretariat and member states, including the upcoming implementation of the cooperation agreement between the Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the GCC Secretariat.

Impressed by Vietnam’s socio‑economic achievements, particularly following his visit to Vietnam in August 2025 accompanying the King and Queen of Bhutan, Bhutan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade D. N. Dhungyel affirmed that Bhutan greatly values its relationship with Vietnam and thanked Vietnam for the warm and attentive reception extended by Vietnamese leaders and people to the King, Queen, and the people of Bhutan.

Minister D. N. Dhungyel noted that there remains ample room for cooperation between the two countries and agreed to strengthen bilateral ties in the coming period, focusing on potential areas such as tourism, investment, and business connectivity.

In discussions with Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Trade Affairs Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Sayed, Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Minh Hang affirmed that Vietnam-Qatar relations have been elevated to a new level, particularly following Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s official visit to Qatar in October 2024.

The Deputy FM proposed that both sides expedite negotiations on the Vietnam-GCC FTA and enhance cooperation in investment, trade, Halal industry, and business connectivity. In agreement with these views, the Qatari diplomat highlighted the investment potential, encouraged trade promotion activities between the two countries, and emphasized that Qatar could serve as a gateway for Vietnamese enterprises to cooperate with other GCC countries.

Both sides also consented to speed up the organization of the 3rd Vietnam-Qatar Joint Committee meeting in the first quarter of 2026.

At the meeting with Tariq Alhamad, Deputy Minister for International Affairs at the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development of Saudi Arabia, Hang underscored the importance of taking bilateral relations to a new cooperation framework that reflects the enhanced capacities and positions of both sides, thus contributing to the concrete implementation of commitments made by the senior leaders of the two countries.

Deputy Minister Tariq Alhamad affirmed that bilateral relations are seeing positive development, with significant potential and broad scope for cooperation.

Regarding the working environment in Saudi Arabia and policies for foreign workers, he suggested that both sides should continue coordination and actively negotiate toward signing cooperation agreements in the near future, including an agreement on the recruitment of Vietnamese workers to work in Saudi Arabia.

On this occasion, Deputy Minister Tariq Alhamad cordially invited Vietnam to send representatives to the Global Labor Market Conference, scheduled to be held in Riyadh from January 26-27, 2026.

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Prime Minister receives GCC Secretary-General on sidelines of WEF meeting

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi on the sidelines of the 55th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on January 21.