Vietnam, Mongolia hold eighth political consultation

NDO/VNA – The eighth political consultation at the deputy foreign ministerial level between Vietnam and Mongolia was held in Hanoi on August 29.

Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister To Anh Dung and his Mongolian counterpart Batmunkh Battsetseg co-chaired the event. The two sides reviewed Vietnam-Mongolia cooperation since the seventh political consultation in July 2018, and agreed on specific measures and orientations to realise agreements reached by their high-ranking leaders in order to consolidate and enhance the traditional friendship and mutually beneficial collaboration between the two countries. They affirmed their wish to strengthen the bilateral relationship across spheres, meeting the interests and aspirations of the two peoples, and contributing to maintaining peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world at large. They concurred to maintain the exchange of all-level delegations and meetings, and continue to coordinate in organising activities marking the 65th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic ties (November 17, 1954-2019). The two sides will step up partnerships in such areas as diplomacy, security, national defence, economy, culture, education and people-to-people exchange. At the same time, the two foreign ministries will beef up their collaboration on the basis of their memorandum of understanding reached in 2013, and coordinate to facilitate each other’s citizen protection and assistance. The two sides expressed satisfaction at the coordination between Vietnam and Mongolia at regional and international forums such as the United Nations, the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF). They shared the views that disputes in the East Sea must be settled by peaceful measures and through dialogues, on the basis of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 UNCLOS), without the use of or threat to use force. During her stay in Vietnam, Batmunkh paid a courtesy visit to Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, had a working session with senior officials of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and visited some cultural and historical sites in Hanoi.