The state visit to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and attendance at the 80th founding anniversary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) from October 9-11 by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee To Lam and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation was a success, producing numerous notable outcomes, according to Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu.
Vu stressed that the visit was an important foreign political event for both Parties and countries, especially as the two sides actively implement their respective Party Congress resolutions in preparation for the 14th National Congress of the CPV and the 9th Congress of the WPK.
The visit helped generate new momentum and strengthen the traditional friendship between Vietnam and the DPRK, Vu said, noting that the two leaders spent considerable time reviewing the long-standing relationship, established by President Ho Chi Minh and President Kim Il Sung, and expressed mutual appreciation for the support provided to each other in the past.
Through frank, sincere, and substantive exchanges between the two leaders, along with the signing of several cooperation agreements, the visit helped elevate the traditional friendship between Vietnam and the DPRK to a new stage, he noted.
The two leaders agreed on key cooperation directions to strengthen the bilateral ties sustainably, focusing on sectors such as economy, tourism, culture, education, information and communication, and healthcare, in line with each country’s strengths, demand, and relevant international regulations, Vu said.
They shared their views and positions on regional and international issues of mutual concern. The Vietnamese Party chief reiterated Vietnam’s consistent stance on contributing to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world, including matters concerning the Korean Peninsula and the East Sea, he noted.
The Deputy FM stated that with these outcomes, the visit represents a concrete advancement of the Party and State’s consistent foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, cooperation, and development; treasuring relations with traditional friends; and demonstrating Vietnam’s role as a responsible member of the international community, and a country undergoing renewal and successfully advancing reform in the international community.
It can be said that the outcomes of the visit have opened a new chapter in the long-standing friendship between Vietnam and the DPRK, marking an important milestone in the two nations’ cooperation and development in the new era, the deputy minister stated.
On the basis of the perceptions and commitments reached by the top leaders of the two countries, as well as the agreements signed during the visit, Vietnam and the DPRK will work closely in the time ahead to implement and materialise the achieved results in the following key areas:
First, both sides will continue to strengthen political trust through enhanced exchanges and contacts between senior leaders, while maintaining delegation exchanges via Party, State, Government, parliamentary, local, and people-to-people channels, along with sustaining and effectively implementing existing cooperation mechanisms.
Second, the two countries will work closely to concretise the shared perceptions and the signed agreements, and to foster cooperation in areas suited to both sides’ strengths, including culture, tourism, sports, education, health, agriculture, and information and communications. Immediately after their talks, the two leaders instructed relevant ministries, sectors, and agencies to promptly carry out the agreed cooperation activities.
Third, the two sides will maintain coordination at regional and international mechanisms and forums of shared interest particularly within the frameworks of the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), thereby contributing to promoting the trend of peace, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.
With the positive outcomes achieved during the visit, Vu expressed his confidence that the foundation of friendship between the two countries will be further strengthened, the will and desire for cooperation will be sustained, and Vietnam–DPRK relations will continue to grow in a stable and solid manner in the future, for the benefit of both nations' people and for peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.
