Promoting high-level political trust between Vietnam and Thailand

On this occasion, Deputy Foreign Minister Dang Dinh Quy granted an interview outlining the outcomes of the visit.

Reporter: Could you please give us a brief on the results of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s recent visit to Thailand, Mr. Deputy Minister?

Deputy Minister Dang Dinh Quy: At the invitation of the Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha, the Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, led a high-ranking delegation to pay an official visit to Thailand from August 17 to 19. During the visit, in the spirit of trust and openness, the two Prime Ministers had a frank discussion on the multilateral and bilateral cooperation matters.

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc  in Thailand’s Nakhon Phanom province on August 19. Photo: nhandan.com.vn

On the bilateral issues, the two PMs agreed to push up negotiations on extradition and judiciary support agreements. The two sides also talked about a bilateral labor agreement which facilitates the ability of Vietnamese workers to work in Thailand legally.

Notably, the visit focused on promoting the economic ties between the two countries. Vietnam has a strong economic relation with Thailand, ranking the first among the economic ties between Vietnam and other ASEAN member states, but Vietnam ran a trade deficit of USD 5 billion with Thailand last year. The important issue in this deficit is tourism as the number of Thai tourists to Vietnam is only one fourth of the number of Vietnamese who visited Thailand. PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc also met with entrepreneurs from the two countries and witnessed the signing of a number of agreements and memorandums of understanding between ministries, branches, localities, and businesses.

During his stay, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc also visited the Vietnamese nationals in Thailand. He stressed the concerns of the leaders of the Party and State to the Vietnamese nationals in Thailand and hoped that they would continue their dedication to the construction of their home country. Specifically, the PM agreed to facilitate any conditions that will help the Vietnamese nationals to contribute to the bilateral relations by promoting the economic ties between the Northeastern Thai region with Lao and the Central Vietnamese region.

Reporter: What agreement have the two sides reached on the issues of the Vietnamese nationals in Thailand, Mr. Deputy Minister?

Deputy Minister Dang Dinh Quy: In all of the meetings with his Thai hosts, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc conveyed his consistent and a clear-cut message of thanks to the Thai King, government, and people for supporting the Vietnamese nationals in the hopes that they would continue to provide constructive conditions for them to settle in Thailand. More importantly, in a retreat with his Thai counterpart, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc asked the Thai government to issue identification papers to the old Vietnamese nationals whos had lost their ID cards. He also sent a list of 59 old Vietnamese nationals to his Thai counterparts and wished that they could soon be granted with legal documents so that they can visit their homeland. The Thai PM pledged that he would handle the issue and tasked the Thai Foreign Minister, who was present at the meeting, to complete this request.

Reporter: What are the prospect of the two countries’ ties after the visit, Mr. Deputy Minister?

Deputy Minister Dang Dinh Quy: Surely the bilateral relations will bear witness to new steps of its development. The PM’s visit will help promote political trust at a high level within the government and the determination to create a legal framework to settle any remaining issues between the two countries. Significantly, the two sides changed their views from exclusive competition to cooperation for mutual development. These are the basic foundations in promoting the Vietnam - Thailand traditional friendship and Strategic Partnership. However, to do this, the ministries, it’s branches, localities, and businesses should actively grasp this golden opportunity.

Reporter: Thank you very much, Mr. Deputy Minister.

Translated by Nam Long