PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc receives Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi in Hanoi on April 19. (Photo: NDO/Tran Hai)

The Myanmar State Counsellor is on her official visit to Vietnam from April 19-20 at the invitation of the Vietnamese PM. This is the first official visit to Vietnam by Aung San Suu Kyi as State Counsellor, in the context of the two sides have set up the bilateral comprehensive cooperative partnership in August 2017.

At the talks, PM Phuc expressed his support for Myanmar during the national reconciliation and construction.

Aung San Suu Kyi congratulated Vietnam on obtaining important achievements over the past 30 years of renovation, especially in ensuring social welfare and sustainable development.

Both sides shared the view that the upgrade of bilateral ties to comprehensive strategic partnership during Myanmar visit by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in August 2017 has opened up a new chapter in bilateral ties. Political, national defence-security, economic-trade-investment ties have been growing. Vietnam is now the ninth largest trade partner and the seventh foreign investor of Myanmar.

They vowed to further boost political and diplomatic collaboration via facilitating all-level visits through the Party, Government, State, National Assembly channels and people-to-people exchange, accelerate the organisation of the ninth Vietnam - Myanmar joint Commission, soon approve the Action Programme to realise the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership for 2018-2023.

They agreed to further deepen bilateral trade and investment on win-win basis towards achieving US$1 billion or higher in two-way trade.

After the welcoming ceremony, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc holds talks with Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. (Photo: NDO/Tran Hai)

Speaking highly of Vietnam’s projects in Myanmar and the PM’s sharing of experience in renovation and economic integration, the guest said Myanmar will build trade and investment policies to create favourable conditions for foreign investors, including those from Vietnam.

Host and guest highly valued the development of cooperation in defence-security. They pledged to extend collaboration into training, military medicine, search and rescue, sport exchange, and agreed to hold the deputy ministerial-level defence policy dialogue in 2018 as well as step up negotiations to soon sign the agreement on anti-crime and others such as the Agreement on Extradition and Agreement on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons.

The two leaders expressed their wish to further uphold other important cooperation fields, including finance, telecommunications, energy, agro-forestry-fisheries, people-to-people exchange. They welcomed the strengthening of coordination across transport, tourism, justice, education, and culture and agreed to soon sign deals that lay legal foundation for specific fields.

On regional and global issues of shared concern, they pledged to work closely together at regional and global forums such as ASEAN, the Non-Aligned Movement, the United Nations, jointly work to successfully build the ASEAN Community which plays a central role in regional security architecture, sustainably and effectively use Mekong River water resources, especially within the framework of the Greater Mekong Sub-region cooperation mechanisms.

PM Phuc expressed his support for Myanmar’s bid for the official membership of the Mekong River Commission.

They highlighted the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the region, maritime and aviation freedom in the East Sea, the peaceful settlement of disputes based on respect of international law, the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, without use of force or threat to use of force, and committed to the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea and working towards reaching a Code of Conduct in the East Sea.

Following the talks, they witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in telecommunications and information technology, and another on information cooperation.

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi witness the signing of cooperative documents between Vietnam and Myanmar. (Photo: NDO/Tran Hai)

The same day, Aung San Suu Kyi laid a wreath at the monument dedicated to martyrs.