During his stay in Brunei, Foreign Minister Minh paid a courtesy call to King Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, held talks with Minister Mohamed Bolkiah, and met with second Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Lim Jock Seng.

King Haji Hassanal Bolkiah congratulated Viet Nam on its achievements gained during the renewal process.

He also praised the fine developments of the traditional friendship and multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries, urging the two sides to expand cooperation in the future for mutual interests.

Brunei would be ready to welcome more Vietnamese workers and directly import rice from Viet Nam, said King Haji Hassanal Bolkiah.

For his part, Foreign Minister Minh affirmed Viet Nam’s consistent policy to attach importance to the friendly relations with ASEAN member countries, including Brunei.

At the talks with Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Mohamed Bolkiah, the two Ministers agreed on the organization of activities in each country to celebrate 20 years (February, 29,1992) of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations.

They unanimously agreed that the first meeting of the Viet Nam-Brunei Joint Committee will be held soon to review and set orientations for bilateral cooperation.

In terms of trade and investment, they stressed the necessity to sign an agreement on investment encouragement and promotion and a Memorandum of Understanding on rice sale.

The two Ministers also exchanged views on bilateral cooperation in labor, petroleum, agriculture and forestry, and tourism.

For the East Sea issues, both sides stressed the importance of securing peace, stability, security and maritime freedom in the East Sea.

They shared the view that all disputes should be addressed through peaceful solutions, observation of international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea, and working towards to the Code of Conduct (COC).

Regarding ASEAN cooperation, Viet Nam supports and is ready to coordinate with Brunei as the latter assumes the ASEAN Presidency in 2013, FM Minh said.