Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, during his meeting with Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah in Indonesia on September 6, proposed that Vietnam and Brunei soon negotiate and sign an inter-governmental agreement on rice trade, to help ensure national food security in their respective countries.

Meeting with the Brunei Sultan in Jakarta on the sidelines of the 43rd ASEAN Summit, Chinh also proposed that the two countries enhance cooperation in the the Halal industry to help Vietnamese Halal products to make inroads into Brunei.

The PM emphasized the need for the two sides to promote cooperation and exchange of experiences in developing the oil, gas and chemical industries.

He also proposed that Brunei increase scholarships for Vietnamese students, ramp up cooperation with Vietnamese institutions, and expand education-training cooperation to other fields such as technology, green economy, digital transformation.

To develop the comprehensive partnership between the two countries more deeply and substantially, the Prime Minister proposed that the two sides expand security-defense cooperation and direct exchanges between the two countries’ forces.

Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah for his part agreed with the Vietnamese PM’s proposals, saying he would direct relevant agencies to consider and work on these proposals.

The Brunei Sultan expressed his satisfaction at the close cooperation between the two countries’ business communities, and affirmed that Brunei would create favourable conditions for Vietnamese businesses to use its facilities to export goods.

The two leaders also exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual concern.

PM Pham Minh Chinh again extended his invitation to the Sultan to visit Vietnam, and the invitation was accepted with pleasure.

VOV