Reporter: The visit to Canada and the attendance at the expanded G7 Summit of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc have captured the attention of public opinions both domestically and internationally. Could you please give more details on the success of this visit?
Deputy Minister Ha Kim Ngoc: At the invitation of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, leading a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, attended the expanded G7 Summit and paid an official visit to Canada. It can be called a three-in-one visit, as the delegation made three achievements in one visit to the host country this time.
    |
 |
|
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc. Source: vtc.vn |
Firstly, the expanded G7 Summit is one of the most important events of G7 in 2018, witnessing the attendance of high-level leaders of G7 members and 12 guest countries and major international organizations, such as the UN, WB, IMF, and OECD. In Asia, only two countries, including Vietnam, were invited to the summit, showing the respect that G7 member countries and Canada pay to the role and position of Vietnam. The experience that Vietnam shared at the summit, especially the initiatives that Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc proposed to cope with climate change, rising sea levels, prevention of plastic pollution in the oceans, maintenance of peace and stability and respect for the international law at sea, were highly appreciated by audiences. This has created an impression of Vietnam and the Vietnamese Prime Minister at this important summit.
Secondly, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc had 14 meetings with leaders of countries and international organizations to intensively boost the confidence and mutual understanding with partners, call for countries’ support for Vietnam in the run to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council - tenure 2020-2021, and invite them to welcome and participate in the World Economic Forum (WEF)-ASEAN event held in Vietnam this September.
Third, the visit to Vietnam of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in November 2017 and the visit to Canada of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on this occasion were conducted on the basis that the two countries are celebrating the 45th anniversary of the establishment of the bilateral diplomatic relations, creating a driving force for promoting the Vietnam-Canada comprehensive partnership intensively, substantially and effectively.
Reporter: This is the second time Vietnam has been invited to the expanded G7 Summit. Could you let us know more about the significance of the invitation?
Deputy Minister Ha Kim Ngoc: Vietnam has been implementing the foreign policy of independence, self-resilience, multilateralization and diversification, actively getting itself engaged in, and making contribution to important international issues at various important multilateral forums, such as the UN, ASEAN, APEC, ASEM, etc. Vietnam was invited to the expanded G7 Summit in 2016, then the G20 Summit in 2017 and successfully held the APEC Year 2017. After that, Vietnam was once more invited to the expanded G7 Summit in 2018, which has shown the fact that the international community really respects the role of Vietnam and its increasingly higher position in the region and the world. They highly appreciated the policy of proactive international integration as well as the constructive and responsible contributions of Vietnam to common issues, such as sustainable development, prevention of climate change, rising sea levels, maritime environment protection, gender equality, and more.
|
|
 |
|
At the talks held between the Vietnamese delegation and the Canadian counterpart in Canada. Photo: VGP |
Besides, that the Canadian Prime Minister invited Prime Minister of Vietnam Nguyen Xuan Phuc to the expanded G7 Summit is a token proving the development of the Vietnam-Canada comprehensive partnership established in November 2017. On the other hand, this fact also shows that Canada really highly values the role and position of Vietnam in the region and hopes that, on the basis of the comprehensive partnership, Vietnam will continue supporting Canada at multilateral forums and raising its voice in actively dealing with shared issues of the region and the world.
Reporter: What were the reactions of participants at the summit over the message and initiatives of Vietnam in response to climate change and environment protection? Could you please elaborate on the role and the contribution of Vietnam’s delegation, especially the Prime Minister, to the summit?
Deputy Minister Ha Kim Ngoc: Climate change and rising sea level prevention and ocean eco-environment protection are the shared responsibility of all countries, including developed ones like the G7 members. With their experience and high levels of development and technologies, G7 countries should enhance substantial cooperation and effective support for developing countries in undertaking this shared responsibility. Under that spirit, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc proposed two practical and significant initiatives that were highly appreciated by leaders of many countries and international organizations.
First, Prime Minister Phuc suggested that G7 countries should consider the establishment of an expanded cooperation forum between G7 countries and coastal countries to look at the issues of climate change and rising sea levels and protection of maritime eco-environment, experience sharing, technology transfer and mobilization of resources for adaptation and response to climate change.
Second, Prime Minister Phuc proposed that the international community discuss the establishment of a global cooperation mechanism to prevent the discharge of plastic waste into the oceans so as to keep the oceans green and uncontaminated by plastic. Besides, Prime Minister Phuc also suggested countries and international organizations at the summit support Vietnam’s initiative on the regional proposal for the ocean unpolluted by plastic, which will be presented at the Global Environment Facility Council Meeting held in Vietnam at the end of June 2018.
It can be seen that these initiatives show Vietnam’s responsible contributions to enhancing substantial and effective cooperation in dealing with climate change and maritime environment protection, representing the impression of the Vietnamese Prime Minister and contributing to the success of the Vietnamese delegation at the expanded G7 Summit 2018.
Reporter: On the occasion that Vietnam and Canada are celebrating the 45th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic relations, how important was the visit in promoting the Vietnam-Canada comprehensive partnership? Could you tell us more about the areas of cooperation that the two sides will boost in the coming time?
Deputy Minister Ha Kim Ngoc: When Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Vietnam in November 2017, Vietnam and Canada established the comprehensive partnership. During the visit of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to Canada this time, high-level leaders of the two countries have created a driving force for developing the bilateral relations effectively and substantially in the coming years.
In the time to come, Vietnam and Canada will boost cooperation in the seven prioritized areas, namely politics-foreign affairs, trade-investment, development cooperation, defense-security, culture-education, science-technology, and people-to-people exchange, for the sakes of the two countries, for peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.
Reporter: Thank you very much!
Translated by Huu Duong