Bangkok – Thailand and Vietnam agreed to raise political and economic relations at the highest level, the prime ministers of the two countries announced on Friday.
Vietnam Pham Minh Chinh and the announcement of Paetongtarn Shinawatra in Thailand came at a press conference after their meeting in Hanoi.
“It is not only a political declaration, representing a symbolic step, but also a strategic commitment, affirming a new breakthrough in the content and the depth of cooperation,” said Chinh of Vietnam.
The two leaders also undertook to bring bilateral trade to $ 25 billion by 2030, focusing on areas such as clean energy, digital economy and high -tech agriculture, according to a statement published after their meeting.
Bidirectional trade reached $ 20.2 billion last year, an increase of 6.3% compared to 2023, according to the Vietnamese government. Vietnam was the sixth export destination for Thailand in 2024, Thailand was the ninth greatest in Vietnam.
For both, last year’s first export market was the United States and the two countries were under increasing pressure from Washington to reduce their business surpluses: almost $ 46 billion for Thailand last year and a record of $ 123 billion for Vietnam. On April 2, President Trump announced that he imposed 36% prices on Thailand and 46% in Vietnam, before suppressing them at 10% for three months to allow commercial talks.
Chinh and Paetongtarn also focused on regional security at the meeting on Friday, agreeing to strengthen defense ties to counter the territorial challenges of the southern China Sea. They called for the rapid adoption of an international code of conduct in disputed waters which are claimed at 90% by China and also disputed by Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia.
The two also agreed to cooperate on the sharing of information to combat transnational crimes such as drugs and trafficking in human beings, and online scams.
Thailand is the 13th country to agree on a complete strategic partnership with Vietnam. Others include the United States, China, Russia and Japan.