THE Philippines and Vietnam will officially meet in Hanoi on Wednesday in a bid to forge a strategic partnership agreement that will bolster their bilateral ties and reach cooperation on regional security and defense issues.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario will head the Philippine delegation to the eighth Philippines-Vietnam Joint Commission on Bilateral Relations, a mechanism for cooperation between the two countries.
Both sides has already pledged close consultations on maritime issues, including the West Philippine Sea, which Vietnam refers to as the East Sea, during the ministerial meeting held on Sept. 14 at Hanoi, the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Bilateral trade in 2012 stood at $1.6 billion in 2012, adding that talks on an action plan will provide a target of $3-billion bilateral trade by 2016.
The two countries also agreed to intensify cooperation in agriculture and convene a joint working group on agriculture.
Del Rosario will co-chair the meeting along with his Vietnamese counterpart, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh.
Del Rosario said “the meeting is an opportunity to discuss developments in our bilateral relations which have expanded significantly and strengthened and diversified through cooperative activities.”
“The future of Philippines and Vietnam is closely linked and it is natural that the bilateral relations of both countries should strengthen and intensify,” the DFA said.
The Philippines and Vietnam are in the process of finalizing a strategic partnership agreed by both the Philippines and Vietnam in 2014 during a meeting on the sidelines of the 26th APEC Summit.
“This strategic partnership is being established with a view to elevating the level and intensity of bilateral exchanges between the two countries,” the DFA added.