The sixth political consultation at a deputy ministerial level between Vietnam and Norway took place in Hanoi on Thursday, focusing on boosting bilateral ties.
Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc and Norwegian State Secretary Morten Høglund co-chaired the consultation meeting.
The host and guest expressed their delight at sound developments of the comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Norway in the past time, and agreed to strengthen delegation exchanges.
The two sides briefed each other about the situation of each country, worked out measures to boost bilateral relations, and discussed international issues of mutual concern.
State Secretary Morten Høglund told his host that Norway is always keen on strengthening its friendship and cooperation with Vietnam.
He said Norway supports Vietnam in maintaining a peaceful and stable environment, settling disputes by peaceful means on the basis of international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, fully implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea, and speeding up the negotiation process for a Code of Conduct of Parties in the East Sea.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister Ngoc thanked Norway for providing official development assistance (ODA) which has greatly contributed to Vietnam’s socio-economic development.
He also said he hoped that the ODA provision will be continued in the future, especially for education-training, forest protection climate change adaptation, and natural resource management.
The two sides agreed that they will jointly prepare for an upcoming visit to Vietnam by the Norwegian Crown Prince and Princess in March 2014.
The visit will be a good opportunity to further bilateral ties, particularly in potential economic fields like shipbuilding and clean energy, they said.
VIETNAM SHIPBUILDING NEWS 