Palace says Vietnam commits strengthened ties with Philippines

Malacañang said Vietnam has committed to work closely with the Philippine government in terms of various areas, including food security, climate change, defense, and food supply.

This as Vietnam National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue paid courtesy call on President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Wednesday.

"I am looking forward to building upon excellent relationships between our two countries. And under your leadership, we will continue to work closely together and I am very confident under your leadership and with your experience, you will help contribute further to strengthen the bilateral relations between our two countries and also in helping elevate the role and position of the Philippines on the global stage," Chairman Vuong told Marcos.

During the meeting, Marcos mentioned that he was very fortunate to meet Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the APEC Summit held in Bangkok, Thailand last week.

Marcos said he had discussed a wide range of topics with his Vietnamese counterpart including agriculture and trade.

"He was kind enough to make a commitment of Vietnam to always include the Philippines as part of your trade partners, especially when it comes to rice. We covered many other subjects as well," he said.

"We touched upon the issues in our region about defense and security and some of the common interests between the Philippines and Vietnam," he added.

Meanwhile, Chairman Vuong said he was impressed on the commitments made by the Philippine government during the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) as it expressed "concerted efforts and coordination to address the climate change and to work together on transitioning towards the clean energy."

Further, the Vietnamese official also expressed hope to improve the two countries' partnership when it comes to legislatures.

"We are hopeful that we can do more to enhance the relationships between our political parties and government-to-government and parliament-to-parliament relationships, and most importantly, the people-to-people exchanges," he said.

Chairman Vuong also met Wednesday his counterpart House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Romualdez gave Vuong a copy of  House Resolution 34 earlier adopted by the House  to sustain the exchange visit among Filipino and Vietnamese parliamentarians.

In addition, House Resolution 34 reads “among the 10-member countries of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), the Philippines and Vietnam have developed a special relation through the years anchored on shared goals, common visions, and mutual interests for the benefit of their peoples and towards a genuinely peaceful and productive path in regional cooperation.”

“House Resolution 34 serves as a token of the commitment of the House of Representatives to be a steadfast partner of our Vietnam brethren in walking the path of mutual peace and development for both our nations,” Romualdez, who was invited by Vuong to visit Vietnam, said in a statement.

Vuong and other Vietnamese lawmakers and government officials arrived in the Philippines on Wednesday morning for a three-day official visit.

In response, Vuong thanked Romualdez and the Philippine lawmakers for their warm welcome and reiterated the importance of strengthening the strategic partnership between the two countries, including trade, economic and people-to-people exchanges.

Accompanying Romualdez in welcoming the Vietnamese delegation were Senior Deputy Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of Pampanga, House Majority Leader Jose Dalipe of Zamboanga City, House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan of 4Ps party-list, among others.—Anna Felicia Bajo and Llanesca Panti/AOL, GMA Integrated News