Vietnamese, Philippine foreign ministers hold phone talks

Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung held phone talks with Maria Theresa Lazaro, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines, on the afternoon of March 25 to discuss bilateral relations and regional issues of mutual concern.

At the talks, the two sides spoke highly of the positive development of cooperation between the two countries and their foreign ministries in recent years. They agreed to further elevate cooperation across all areas, including politics, diplomacy, defence, security, economy, and people-to-people exchanges, contributing to the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries (July 12, 1976 – 2026).

They emphasised the importance of promoting high-level and all-level exchanges through Party, State and parliamentary channels, while effectively utilising existing bilateral cooperation mechanisms, particularly the Vietnam–Philippines Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation. They also expressed determination to soon achieve the target of raising bilateral trade turnover to over 10 billion USD.

Exchanging views on international and regional issues of common concern, the two ministers agreed that amid increasing uncertainties and challenges, ASEAN needs to maintain regular information exchanges and coordination to respond effectively to emerging challenges, while upholding its solidarity, centrality, resilience and capacity to address new issues.

Trung affirmed Vietnam’s support for the Philippines' ASEAN Chairmanship in 2026 and the priorities of the ASEAN Chairmanship Year under the theme “Navigating Our Future, Together.”

He also praised the Philippines’ role in chairing and guiding important ministerial meetings held since the beginning of 2026, as well as its efforts in promoting ASEAN’s responsible voice and common approach to the escalating tensions in the Middle East, including the issuance of a joint statement by ASEAN foreign ministers and the recent special online ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting./.