Continuously strengthening Vietnam

This is the first state visit to Vietnam by the Bhutanese king and queen since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 2012.

General Secretary To Lam receives King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck

PHOTO: VNA

Deepening Vietnam - Bhutan relations

General Secretary To Lam believes that the King's visit, accompanied by many high-ranking Bhutanese officials, is an important milestone, creating an opportunity to deepen the friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Bhutan in a practical and effective manner, meeting the interests of the people of the two countries, and contributing responsibly to peace , stability and sustainable development in the region and the world.

General Secretary To Lam welcomed Bhutan's development model with its own unique characteristics that is admired by the world for its emphasis on environmental protection, preservation of cultural heritage and happiness for its people, making it one of the "happiest countries in the world"; considering it a very strategic and wise development vision.

On August 19, General Secretary To Lam received King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan.

The General Secretary said that the two countries share many similarities in development orientations and goals, and this creates conditions for strengthening bilateral cooperation in the coming time; affirming that Vietnam always supports Bhutan's development orientations and goals.

The King emphasized that Bhutan considers Vietnam one of its top priority partners in Southeast Asia, and wishes to strengthen multi-faceted cooperation, share and learn from Vietnam's experiences.

The two leaders agreed to cooperate more closely and increase mutual support at multilateral forums. General Secretary To Lam welcomed Bhutan to further strengthen its cooperative relations with ASEAN.

New page for bilateral relations

Earlier, right after the state welcoming ceremony, President Luong Cuong and the King of Bhutan held talks.

President Luong Cuong and King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck

PHOTO: THAO PHAM

President Luong Cuong affirmed that the first visit by a Bhutanese head of state to Vietnam since the establishment of diplomatic relations has special significance, opening a new page in the relationship between the two countries.

The King of Bhutan said that the Bhutanese people respect President Ho Chi Minh and admire Vietnam's great achievements during the 80 years of fighting for national independence and developing the country.

The two sides agreed to continuously strengthen friendship and mutual understanding, promote more frequent high-level visits and promote the signing of cooperation agreements to create a favorable framework for implementing specific projects and activities.

Emphasizing that the potential for economic, trade and investment cooperation between the two countries is still very large, President Luong Cuong and King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck agreed to encourage agencies, ministries and businesses of the two countries to promote cooperation, facilitate opening for the strong goods of one country to access the other's market, towards diversifying the supply chain, striving to increase trade turnover many times in the coming time.

In addition, the two sides agreed to further expand cooperation in important areas such as agriculture, science and technology, innovation, education, training, culture and arts; encourage airlines of the two countries to soon consider opening direct flights to promote cultural, religious, tourism and people-to-people exchanges; share experiences in honoring the traditional cultural heritage of each country; and expand cooperation in new areas towards sustainable development, in order to improve the material and spiritual life of the people.

After the talks, President Luong Cuong and King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan witnessed the signing of two cooperation documents: a framework document on cooperation between the two governments and a document on cooperation in the aviation sector.

Effectively exploit cooperation in all fields

On the same day, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan.

At the meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh highly appreciated the philosophy of "Total National Happiness" that Bhutan consistently implements, considering this an inspiring criterion for the international community in moving towards harmonious, inclusive and sustainable development.

The Prime Minister emphasized that Vietnam wishes to promote cooperative relations with Bhutan, is ready to export goods that Bhutan needs and Vietnam has strengths in, and at the same time import goods from Bhutan to meet the needs of the two countries.

The Prime Minister suggested that the two sides consider expanding security cooperation and combating cybercrime; promote cooperation in potential areas such as spiritual tourism, organic and high-quality agriculture, and traditional medicine; and soon establish direct flights to promote cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

King Jigme of Bhutan expressed his agreement and gratitude for the Prime Minister's opinions on measures to promote bilateral relations, considering them very practical proposals for stronger development of bilateral cooperation in the coming time.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the King of Bhutan assessed that the two countries' cooperation still has much potential and room for improvement. On that basis, they agreed to effectively exploit cooperation in all fields, soon bringing the relationship to a new height.

Early establishment of the Friendship Parliamentary Group of the two countries

At the meeting with King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man affirmed that the Vietnamese National Assembly highly appreciated the cooperation between the two countries' legislative bodies in recent times, especially through delegation exchanges and contacts at inter-parliamentary forums of which the two parliaments are members.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man also suggested that the two sides increase the exchange of delegations at all levels, especially delegations of high-ranking leaders of the National Assembly, specialized committees, agencies assisting the National Assembly and other mechanisms of National Assembly deputies (female deputies, young deputies), exchange legislative and supervisory experiences, contributing to creating favorable conditions for the socio-economic development of each country; proposed that the two sides soon establish a Friendship Parliamentarians Group of the two countries.

The National Assembly Chairman emphasized that the Vietnamese National Assembly is committed to creating favorable legal and policy conditions to support investment and business activities of Bhutanese enterprises in Vietnam.

The King of Bhutan agreed with the proposals of National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man, including promoting the exchange of high-level delegations, including parliamentary delegations of the two countries, exchanging and sharing views and experiences; and inviting the Vietnamese National Assembly to send a delegation to visit Bhutan.

The Kingdom of Bhutan is located on the southern slope of the Himalayas, bordering Tibet (China) to the north for 470 km, the rest bordering India for 605 km, with no access to the sea, the total border is 1,075 km.

Bhutan does not measure economic development by the conventional GDP index, but by the Gross National Happiness index. The country's long-term strategy is to develop the economy in parallel with preserving culture, protecting the environment and human happiness.

Vietnam and Bhutan established diplomatic relations on January 19, 2012.

Thanhnien.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/khong-ngung-cung-co-quan-he-viet-nam-bhutan-185250819221920428.htm