Today's Edition
KHALED AL KHAWALDEH (ABU DHABI)
In a historic address during his visit to Abu Dhabi, the first by a Vietnamese Prime Minister in 15 years, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh lauded the UAE for its vision and achievements, calling it a "land of tolerance, coexistence, and openness."
Speaking at the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy on Tuesday, the Vietnamese Prime Minister used his address to distil the current global and regional issues, while emphasising the increasing alignment of the GCC and ASEAN countries, and more importantly that of Vietnam and the UAE.
"There is really some innovative and exceptional thinking here that we admire and that we would like to learn from you. I came here last over a decade ago, and I have been really impressed by what I see now… it's really like a miracle in the desert," Prime Minister Chinh said.
"The world is currently facing a number of contradictions, between conflict and peace, dependence and self-sufficiency, isolationism and decoupling… I think we are increasingly aligned on these issues," he said.
His trip to the UAE marks the beginning of a larger diplomatic initiative across the Middle East, signalling the importance Vietnam places on the region for economic and strategic partnerships.
On Monday, the two countries finalised a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), Vietnam's first free-trade deal with a Middle Eastern country.
Announced by Vietnam's trade ministry, the agreement was signed in Dubai after a year of negotiations and aims to boost trade and investment in sectors such as agriculture, energy, technology, and logistics.
Under the agreement, the UAE will phase out tariffs on 99% of Vietnamese exports, while Vietnam will eliminate tariffs on 98.5% of UAE exports, building on a trade relationship that reached $4.7 billion in 2023, according to the Prime Minister, who noted that Vietnam enjoys a healthy trade surplus.
Vietnam now has 17 free trade agreements, which he said positioned it as a strong partner for the UAE and the Middle East at large.
Prime Minister Chinh said he wanted to see that relations spread to other domains, including security and diplomacy.
"The future of the world is chartered by three main sectors: Science and technology boom, particularly digitisation, AI and cloud computing. Secondly, climate change and the move to sustainability and the third being the economic decoupling, segregation, and increasing geo-economic competition, particularly between great powers."
"The UAE and Vietnam are two countries with strong stances in their regions… that must work together to leverage the positive trends in the world."
The Prime Minister touched on his country's own trajectory, from gaining independence in 1945 to overcoming colonialism and conflict, and said it had positioned the country with a resilient outlook.
He re-emphasised Vietnam's commitment to peace, cooperation, and a balanced approach to global issues, asserting that both countries prioritise independence and sovereignty.
