(VOVworld) – Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev began a 3-day state visit to Vietnam on Sunday. He held talks with President Truong Tan Sang following the official welcoming ceremony in Hanoi on Monday.
The two sides agreed that there should be measures to further increase two-way trade value, which stands at only 400 million USD at present. They agreed to increase the exchange of visits and promote trade in order to raise bilateral trade to 1 billion USD in the near future.
While discussing tensions in the East Sea, President Sang said that ASEAN and Vietnam shared the intent of resolving maritime disputes with peaceful measures based on international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Vietnam insists on fully complying with the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and adopting the Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) to ensure regional peace and navigation safety and security. The two presidents agreed that conflicts should be settled peacefully in line with international law and the UN Charter.
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At a joint press conference after their talks, President Sang said: “The visit created an impetus to boost our mutually beneficial multifaceted cooperation. We agreed that our traditional friendship would continue to grow in the coming years. The two sides should increase the exchange of visits and implement signed agreements. The two sides consider oil and gas cooperation an area of long-term, strategic cooperation and encourage each other’s businesses to engage in this field. The two sides are satisfied with our close and effective coordination at multilateral forums, particularly at the United nations.”
After talks, they witnessed the signing of an inter-governmental agreement on cooperation in economics, trade, and science-technology and another agreement on double taxation avoidance.
At a reception for President Aliyev, National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung said that Vietnam attached great importance to developing relations with traditional friends including Azerbaijan. He added that the visit would create an impetus for active and efficient cooperation between the two countries in a number of areas including economics, trade and investment. Both sides agreed to share legislative experience and pledged to support each other in settling issues of mutual concern. President Aliyev also met with a number of Vietnamese students who had studied in Azerbaijan.
Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong received President Aliyev the same day. He praised the results of the talks between the two presidents and said that Vietnam hoped relations between the two countries would be elevated to a higher level in all areas. President Aliyev said that Azerbaijan considered Vietnam to be a close and reliable partner in Southeast Asia. Concerning the East Sea situation, he expressed his disagreement with illegal actions that violate international law and hoped that disputes would be resolved with peaceful measures in line with international law and commitments.
During talks with President Aliyev, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said the visit would be an important milestone to bring bilateral friendship and cooperation to a new level. He said he would instruct relevant Vietnamese agencies to coordinate with Azerbaijan's agencies to implement agreements reached between the two countries' presidents. Concerning China's illegal placement of an oil rig in Vietnam's exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, Prime Minister Dung and President Aliyev agreed that all parties should abide by international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and resolve disputes peacefully.