(VOVworld) Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh began an official visit to Thailand today. Minh paid a courtesy visit to Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and held talks with his Thai counterpart Surapong Towichukchaikul. The two sides agreed to further accelerate the signed agreements, increase joint patrols on the sea, strengthen cooperation in trans-national crime and terrorism prevention. They pledged not to allow any organizations or individuals to use their respective territories to threaten each other’s securities. Both sides aim to raise the bilateral trade turnover to 7 billion USD this year and facilitate their enterprises to best use the East West economic corridor. They also agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in agriculture, labour and tourism.
On the occasion, Minister Minh proposed Thailand to consider the release of Vietnamese fishermen and together work out a mechanism to solve cases of both countries’ fishermen penetrating other country’s water in line with both laws. In regard to the East sea issue, the two agreed to ensure peace, stability, security, safety and maritime freedom on in the East Sea and solve disputes through peaceful measures and in line with international laws, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Declaration of Conducts of Parties on the East Sea