BEIJING, China, Nov. 10 (PNA) — The Philippines and Vietnam next month will start discussions on the roadmap towards a strategic partnership to enhance their economic and cultural ties, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said Monday.
The roadmap will essentially focus on improving the trade, investment, and people-to-people exchanges of the two countries, del Rosario said during a media briefing following the bilateral meeting between President Benigno S. Aquino III and his Vietnamese counterpart on the sidelines of the 2014 APEC Chief Executive Officers’ Summit here.
Asked why the Philippines decided to make Vietnam a strategic partner, just like the US and Japan, del Rosario said this is because of the special bond between Vietnam and the Philippines.
“I think that it is mostly driven by our close ties with them, and we actually have entered into a strong commitment to be able to bring our relations closer, and the way to do this is through some form of a comprehensive strategic partnership,” he said.
However, there are challenges ahead, he said, noting that the two countries still have to craft exactly what the strategic partnership means.
The Philippines and Vietnam need to integrate their thoughts in terms of what they mean by ‘comprehensive strategic partnership,’ del Rosario explained.
“But I think there is enough of a history in terms of our relations and the fact that we have very close ties, to get us to where we want to go,” he added.
He also said that the two countries had agreed to strengthen their agriculture and maritime cooperation, including in search-and-rescue operations, marine environment protection, and oil spill preparedness.
The Philippines will chair the 2015 APEC Summit while Vietnam will host the meeting in 2017, he said, adding that both sides have agreed to support each other’s chairmanship. (PNA)