Mr Dung’s visit aims to affirm Vietnam’s foreign policy of further developing cooperative relations, especially in economics, trade and investment with neighbouring countries and those in the region including the Philippines.

During the visit, PM Dung is expected to meet President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, President of the Senate Manny Villar and Speaker of the House of Representatives Jose de Venecia. He will speak at the National University of the Philippines and at the Vietnam-Philippines Business Forum and visit the National Hero Rizai’s Monument, Vietnamese Embassy staff and the overseas Vietnamese community in the Philippines.

Since Vietnam and the Philippines established diplomatic ties in July 12, 1976, bilateral relations have increasingly developed in all fields through the exchange of high-level visits to enhance mutual understanding and trust between the two countries’ leaders and people.

During President Arroyo’s visit to Vietnam in November 2002, the two countries signed a bilateral cooperation framework for the 21st century. They later signed a memorandum of understanding in November 2005 to ratify a plan of action to implement the joint statement on bilateral cooperation for the first 25 years of the 21^st century.

They have cooperated in implementing the Declaration of the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) in order to accelerate the adoption of the Code of Conduct on the East Sea (COC) and the signing of a tripartite agreement (China, the Philippines and Vietnam) on seismic exploration in the agreed areas of the East Sea signed on March 14, 2005. The three countries appreciated the agreement as a landmark in cooperation on the East Sea. They completed the first phase of seismic exploration in the region as stipulated in the tripartite agreement and are assessing the implementation results to pave the way for future cooperation.

In 2006, diverse activities were launched by the two countries to mark the 30^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties.

In recent times, positive developments have been seen in bilateral economic and trade ties which are expected to hit US$2 billion by 2007.

In March 1994, both sides signed an agreement on the establishment of a joint committee on economic, scientific and technological cooperation between the two Governments, which has conducted four sessions so far.

Two-way trade has increased remarkably, from US$687 million in 2004 to US$1.39 billion in 2005 of which, Vietnam exported US$829 million and imported US$210 million worth of goods, reaching a total export-import value of US$1.2 billion in 2006.

Rice has been the Philippines’ major import item from Vietnam for many years. In 2005, Vietnam exported 1.7 million tonnes of rice to the country. In addition, Vietnam exports electronics parts and farm products to the Philippines while importing fertiliser, machines and equipment, minerals, liquefied gas, petroleum, pharmaceuticals, and building materials.

In terms of investment, by the end of 2006, the Philippines had 25 valid projects in Vietnam with a total registered investment capital of US$250 million, ranking fourth among ASEAN investors after Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.

In regard to science, technology and the environment, both countries conducted four joint surveys of the sea under the Philippines-Truong Sa (Spratly)-Vung Tau roadmap. The Philippines is currently training Vietnamese agricultural experts. Between 60-70 percent of Vietnam’s rice growing area is applying technological advances in rice cultivation and rice variety from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), which has also sponsored more than 600 Vietnamese researchers.

Bilateral cooperation in security, national defence, agriculture, culture, education, and healthcare has also progressed. However the implementation of cooperation agreements in these fields has been limited by a lack of funding from both sides.

Mr Dung’s visit to the Philippines will make important contributions to promoting multifaceted cooperation between the two countries in the future.