Prime Minster Nguyen Tan Dung and his entourage on December 21 concluded an official visit to Thailand at the invitation of his Thai counterpart Surayud Chulanont.

Earlier on December 20, PM Dung paid a courtesy visit to Thai King Bhumibol Adulayadej, and expressed his appreciation for the warm welcome given to him and his delegation by Thai Royalty, government and people. Mr Dung said he was delighted to see the situation in Thailand has become stable under the reign of the King. He wished the Thai people more successes in developing their country.

Thai King Bhumibol Adulayadej praised the achievements Vietnam has made during its renovation process, and said that he believes PM Dung's visit will contribute to strengthening the fine relationship between the two countries.

After attending an official welcoming ceremony, PM Dung had talks with his Thai counterpart Surayud Chulanont in the afternoon.

The two PMs briefed each other on their respective countries' situation, and discussed measures to boost the bilateral relationship and other regional and international issues of common concern. They expressed their satisfaction at the fine development of bilateral relations over the recent years. They also agreed to maintain the existing cooperation mechanisms such as the Joint Committee for Economic, Cultural and Scientific-Technological Cooperation, and mechanisms of security.

They agreed to continue increasing their economic and trade cooperation to fully exploit the two countries' potential and meet the people' desires, targeting US$5 billion in two-way trade in several years to come.

The two PMs also agreed to further speed up the implementation of the joint declaration on Vietnam-Thailand cooperation in the first decade of the 21^st century.

The two countries will boost their cooperation in the fight against epidemics and natural calamities, and in agriculture, transport and communication and tourism.

The two leaders said that specific programmes for cooperation in rice and seafood exports, which are the two countries' strength, will be discussed. They also pledged to work together in exploiting the West-East Corridor and strengthen coordination in judicial issues.

The Vietnamese PM told his host that Vietnam welcomes the Bangkok criminal court's decision to extradite Ly Tong to Vietnam for trial and appreciates the Thai Government's support for the issue. He expressed his hope of receiving the same support from the Thai Government in the case of Vo Van Duc.

During the talks, the two leaders agreed to increase coordination and cooperation within international and regional cooperation frameworks, such as the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Asia-Europe Meeting, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum, and the East Asia Summit.

Prime Minister Dung thanked Thailand for its support for Vietnam's accession to the World Trade Organiasation and its candidacy for non-permanent membership in the UN Security Council for the 2008-09 term. He also appreciated Thailand's cooperation in preparing for the 14^th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting.

Mr Dung expressed his gratitude to the Thai Prime Minister and his government for their sympathy and relief aid of US$50,000 to Vietnamese victims of Typhoon Durian.

Following the talks, the two PMs witnessed the signing of a joint statement of the Vietnamese and Thai Governments on the two countries' viewpoints on security and another joint statement on Vietnam-Thailand strategy for economic partnership.

Later, Thai PM Surayud hosted a banquet in honour of PM Dung and his entourage.

VNA/VOVNews