Hanoi, 3 March 2004 – The Philippines and Vietnam will  continue to strengthen their bilateral ties through  increased cooperation in trade, tourism, political and security matters, and in other areas of mutual concern. They also pledged to follow up on the gains  resulting from the visits of President Tran Duc Luong  to the Philippines in 2001 and President Gloria  Macapagal Arroyo to Vietnam in November last year.

 This was the commitment obtained by Foreign Affairs  Secretary Delia Domingo Albert when she called on  Foreign Minister Nguyen Dy Nien, Deputy Prime Minister  Pham Gia Khiem, and President Tran Duc Luong during  her two-day official visit to the Socialist Republic  of Vietnam.

 “The Philippines and Vietnam continue to enjoy  excellent relations, which were facilitated by the  exchange of visits between our two presidents.  In my talks with the leaders of Vietnam during these past few days, we agreed that there is a great potential for future cooperation between our two countries, particularly in areas where we can complement each other well,” the Secretary said.

 Secretary Albert said that the Philippines and Vietnam have agreed to explore the possibility of opening direct flights between Cebu City and Ho Chi Minh City to promote tourism and stimulate economic activity. They also agreed to establish a sister city relationship between Haiphong City, reportedly Vietnam’s third largest, with a suitable city in the Philippines.

 “Tourism is important to our two countries not only because of the revenues it generates, but also because it involves people. A sister city relationship between Haiphong City and a similar port city in the Philippines can help to increase people-to-people contacts, thus contributing to stronger friendship and better understanding,” she said.

 To address a great need for the expansion of Vietnam’s air transport industry, Secretary Albert said that the two countries agreed to look into the possibility of establishing a joint venture for aircraft repair and facility maintenance to avail of Filipino expertise in this field.

 In addition, the Philippines and Vietnam also agreed to consider entering into a trilateral agreement with a third country for the production of small vessels to be utilized for search and rescue operations.

 During her meetings, the Secretary raised the request of San Miguel Beer Vietnam Ltd. (SMBVL) to be allowed to increase its production of beer to 1 million
 hectoliters and to import flavors for carbonated soft drinks until such time that the local flavor producers can meet SMBVL’s quality control standards. She added that approval of this request will encourage San Miguel Corporation, which accounts for more than half of total Philippine investments in Vietnam, to expand further its operations in the country.

 On political and security matters, Secretary Albert said that the two countries agreed to cooperate in the implementation of the Declaration of Conduct of Parties to the South China Sea (DOC-SCS) in areas such as marine scientific exploration and other less sensitive activities like search and rescue missions.

 “The South China Sea should become a lake which countries in the region can share and use for peaceful purposes. Indeed, there is a need for both the Philippines and Vietnam to go beyond the establishment of confidence building measures in the South China Sea to more pro-active ways of exploring the area for marine environmental protection and marine scientific research within the context of the DOC-SCS,” Secretary Albert said. END.