Vietnam and Thailand have vowed to foster all-round cooperation, increase two-way trade to US$25 billion and elevate their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership, according to the phone talks between Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his Thai counterpart Paetongtarn Shinawatra on Thursday.

This was the first talks between the two leaders after Shinawatra became the 31st Prime Minister of Thailand, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

PM Chinh congratulated Paetongtarn on being endorsed as the PM by the King of Thailand, and extended his regards and best wishes of Party General Secretary and State President To Lam to the King, Queen and Royal Family of Thailand. 

On this occasion, Chinh also sent his regards to the Thai government and people over the recent serious flooding in the northern region of Thailand.

He told Paetongtarn that Vietnam always attaches importance to the Vietnam - Thailand relationship and wishes to develop the bilateral ties more strongly, reliably and sustainably.

The Thai PM congratulated PM Chinh on Vietnam’s National Day (September 2) and thanked him for sending her a letter and a phone call in congratulating her assuming her new position.

Highlighting Vietnam as a close neighbor and an important partner of her country in the region, the Thai leader highly appreciated Vietnam's socio-economic development achievements.

She affirmed his readiness to cooperate with PM Chinh to further promote the effective and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries, for the benefit of the people of the two countries, and for peace and stability in the region.

Assessing that the Vietnam-Thailand enhanced strategic partnership is developing strongly and efficiently in all fields, the two PMs agreed that it is necessary to soon upgrade the relationship between the two countries to a comprehensive strategic partnership, the Vietnam Government Portal (VGP) reported.

The Thai leader agreed with PM Chinh on the need of close coordination and removal of difficulties to soon push two-way trade to $25 billion and strengthen connectivity between the two economies through effective implementation of the ‘Three Connectivity’ strategy, including the connectivity of supply chains, foundational economic sectors, and sustainable growth strategies of the two sides.

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra is seen during her phone talks with her Vietnamese counterpart on August 29, 2024. Photo: VGP

Last year, the bilateral trade reached nearly $19 billion, said Le Huu Phuc, head of the Vietnam Trade Office in Thailand.

Appreciating Thailand's position as Vietnam's largest trade partner and second largest foreign investor in ASEAN, PM Chinh promised that he will continue to facilitate Thai businesses to do business effectively in Vietnam.

Vietnam supports Thailand's ‘Six Countries, One Destination’ initiative to effectively tap the tourism potential among ASEAN countries, the Vietnamese government chief stated.

Commenting that Vietnam and Thailand are two economies that are closely linked and complementary to each other, Shinawatra hoped that the two countries will cooperate to bring into play their advantages to become the main driving forces for economic growth in the region.

On discussing with Shinawatra on regional and international issues of mutual concern, Chinh suggested that the two sides continue to cooperate closely, strengthen solidarity promote the central role of ASEAN, support Laos to successfully fulfill its role as ASEAN Chair in 2024, and contribute to sustainable development of the Mekong sub-region.

Both nations should also coordinate to maintain ASEAN’s common stance on the East Vietnam Sea, contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region.

PM Chinh invited his Thai counterpart to soon pay an official visit to Vietnam and co-chair the fourth Vietnam-Thailand Joint Cabinet Meeting, and Shinawatra happily accepted the invitation. 

As two among the 10 country members of ASEAN, Vietnam and Thailand established diplomatic relations in 1976 and entered a strategic partnership in 2013.

In July 2015, the two nations issued a joint statement to boost the ties to an enhanced strategic partnership.

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