Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh holds talks with Prime Minister of the State of Kuwait Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah - Photo: VGP
The Prime Minister of Kuwait warmly welcomed Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính and the High-level delegation of Vietnam on their official visit to Kuwait. He considered this a historic event, creating a new impetus for pushing the friendship and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries to a new stage of development, becoming more factual, deeper and more effective.
Holding the recent impressive development achievements of Vietnam in high regard, Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah expressed his belief that with an increasingly elevated position in the international stage, Vietnam would continue to play a positive role in promoting peace, cooperation and development in the Asia-Pacific area as well as the world.
Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính expressed his happiness from his visit to Kuwait as well as gratitude for the very warm, respectful and sincere welcome of the Kuwaiti Monarchy, Government and people. Congratulating Kuwait for its numerous important achievements in the development and transformation of its economic model towards a more modern and stable model, as well as gradually realizing its Vision 2035, the Prime Minister asserted that Vietnam always respected the friendly and multifaceted cooperating relations with Kuwait, the first Middle Eastern nation to establish foreign relations with Vietnam in 1976.
On this occasion, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính invited Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah to come to Vietnam for an official visit, passing on well wishes and invitations to the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and Leaders of Kuwait to come to Vietnam from Secretary General Tô Lâm, President Lương Cường and Chairman of the National Assembly Trần Thanh Mẫn.
After nearly 50 years of cooperation, the two leaders saw that the bilateral relations between the countries were continuously expanded and reinforced, especially in terms of trait, investment, energy, education, labor and development support, turning Kuwait into a leading trade partner and an important investment and development partner of Vietnam in the Middle East.
On the precipice of a new development stage and armed with new potential and a new mindset, and in the honest, trustworthy and mutually understanding atmosphere, the Prime Minister agreed to upgrade the relations between the two nations to a Strategic Partnership and discussed thoroughly the situation of the relations between the two countries, of the area and internationally, eventually agreeing on major paths to help the Vietnam-Kuwait relationship grow more strongly, comprehensively and stably in the near future.
Both parties agreed to increase the exchange of delegations at all levels, especially at high levels, and to further increase the activity of the preexisting cooperation mechanisms, including the Intergovernmental and Political Consultation Committee, as well as establishing new specialized working groups such as the Joint Working Group on Digital Transformation in order to promote cooperation on all aspects. The two leaders also agreed on promoting cooperation in the fields of security and national defense, collaborating in the exchange of experience and responding to challenges in cybersecurity and non-traditional security.
The two Prime Ministers established that economic and commercial cooperation as well as continued investment are important pillars in the relations between the two nations, agreeing to strive towards increasing bilateral trade turnover to over 12 to 15 billion USD in 2030. Vietnam suggested that Kuwait urged the discussions and signing of a Vietnam Free Trade Agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as well as considering talks for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Vietnam and Kuwait.
Both parties reasserted that they would strongly collaborate to increase the efficiency and promote the expansion of the Nghi Sơn Petrochemical Refinery Project in the spirit of "harmonious benefits, shared risks", considering the project a symbol of the strategic partnership between the two countries, becoming an important contribution towards the energy security of both countries. In addition, Vietnam expressed willingness to provide petrochemical services and high-quality staff for projects in Kuwait, as well as expanding collaboration to some new projects, especially the Petroleum Storage and Transit Project in the Vietnam area.
The Prime Minister of Kuwait emphasized his respect for the multifaceted and bilateral relations with Vietnam. Agreeing that there was still considerable room and potential between the two countries to increase these relations, especially on the basis of the newly-upgraded Strategic Partnership, the Prime Minister of Kuwait welcomed investment opportunities in Vietnam and promised to motivate the Kuwait Public Investment Fund and Kuwaiti investors to deploy major and strategic projects in Vietnam, while at the same time pledging to direct the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development to collaborate with Vietnam to continue increasing the ODA while ensuring the interests of both parties. The Prime Minister of Kuwait also suggested both parties to soon sign an air transport agreement and look into opening direct flights between the two countries.
Emphasizing the potential for the cooperation for food security between both parties, the Prime Minister of Kuwait expressed that he would soon motivate the research into constructing agricultural factories in Vietnam for export to Kuwait and other countries in the region. Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính suggested negotiating a long-term framework agreement regarding strategic products including rice to ensure food security for Kuwait and also deploy projects to support the development of the Halal ecosystem in Vietnam.
Emphasizing the motto of “respect time, respect intellect, innovate to break through, create to reach further”, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính asserted that Vietnam would welcome and create favorable opportunities for Kuwaiti investment funds and businesses, including suggesting the Kuwaiti Investment Authority (KIA) invested in an International Finance Center in Vietnam.
Aside from economic cooperation, both parties agreed to expand their partnership into new fields such as science and technology, digital transformation, innovation, cybersecurity, renewable energy, education and training, travel and people-to-people exchange. The two Prime Ministers agreed to put educational and cultural exchange as the solid foundation for the long-term friendship between the two peoples.
The Prime Minister of Kuwait pledged to expand scholarships for Vietnamese students to study new fields such as STEM or basic science, while at the same time agreeing to collaborate to organize Vietnam Days in Kuwait and Kuwait Days in Vietnam, as part of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of foreign relations between Vietnam and Kuwait (1976-2026); the Prime Ministers would also look into the possibility of visa exemption for citizens of the two countries.
Discussing local and international topics of interest, the two Prime Ministers agreed to strongly cooperate in regional and international multilateral mechanisms such as the United Nations, ASEAN and GCC. The two parties also shared a common vision of resolving disputes peacefully, in accordance to international law and the United Nations Charter. As one of the nations providing the largest humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip and Syria, Kuwait welcomed the collaboration of Vietnam in deploying reconstruction activities in the Middle East.
After the talks, the two Prime Minister oversaw the Signing ceremonies of the Protocol amending the Agreement on visa exemption for diplomatic and official passport holders for Kuwait, and the Memorandum of Understanding between the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam) and the Saud Al-Nasser Al-Sabah Kuwaiti Institute of Foreign Affairs (part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait).
Translated by Nhat Nam
