Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario will lead the Philippine delegation to Hanoi, Vietnam for the convening on October 21 of the Ministerial Meeting of the 8th Philippines-Viet Nam Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC).
The JCBC is an important mechanism between the two countries to discuss bilateral and regional issues, as well as plan for joint projects to enhance Philippines-Viet Nam cooperation in areas such as political, economic, security, defense, agriculture and maritime cooperation, among others.
Secretary Del Rosario, who will co-chair the meeting together with his Viet Nam counterpart, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh, stated that “the meeting is an opportunity to discuss developments in our bilateral relations which have expanded significantly and strengthened and diversified through cooperative activities.”
The Secretary added that, as both maritime nations with rapidly developing economies, the future of Philippines and Viet Nam is closely linked and it is natural that the bilateral relations of both countries should strengthen and intensify.
The Philippines and Viet Nam are in the process of finalizing a strategic partnership, which was agreed upon by both President Benigno S. Aquino III and Viet Nam President Tan Sang 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 Ministerial Meeting was preceded by a Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) held on September 14, in Hanoi, Viet Nam.
