Statement by Michael D. Higgins, President of Ireland following a meeting with President Quang
Date: Mon 7th Nov, 2016 | 09:53
“It is a privilege to lead a delegation on this first State Visit by a President of Ireland to Vietnam. I wish to thank President Quang for his invitation to come to Hanoi, and for the warm welcome extended by him, his ministers and officials to me, my wife Sabina, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Mr. Charles Flanagan, and all those travelling with us.
I am looking forward to meeting with the Chair of the National Assembly, Ms Ngan, later today, and with Prime Minister Xuan Phuc and Party Secretary General Nguyen Phy Trong tomorrow.
I am also looking forward to visiting the rural areas of Quang Tri and experiencing the rich heritage and culture of Vietnam. I hope to have further meetings, deepening the Ireland’s partnership with the extraordinarily resilient and courageous people of Vietnam. I hope that my visit will contribute to the deepening of the true and growing friendship that unites the peoples of Ireland and Vietnam.
This morning President Quang and I had the opportunity to discuss Ireland and Vietnam’s strong and growing relationship and we reflected on the deep commitment shared by Vietnam and Ireland to working together towards sustainable development and multilateral cooperation, as well as to the measures we both must take.
We discussed the necessary connection between climate change, migration, global poverty and sustainable development. We discussed also the practical measures that we can take to meet our obligations, both at a bilateral and a global level, in achieving the aims of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.
We were able to discuss, based on a recognition of the immense gains that have been made by the Vietnamese people in reducing extreme poverty, how best to address the remaining but not intractable levels of poverty, in particular among minority groups, and how Irish Aid projects might be of assistance in that regard.
We agreed the importance of addressing not just the symptoms of poverty, but also the central importance of protecting livelihoods and natural resources, in order to prevent involuntary migration through displacement, and the need to curb inequality at its source, in all its forms.
At our meeting, President Quang and I also discussed areas of cooperation in the International Labour Organisation for the protection of workers internationally. As active UN members we both are committed to working unceasingly in multilateral fora so as to respond adequately to global challenges such as poverty, climate change, hunger, and we are equally committed to making the world safer through our collaboration on disarmament.
We also discussed both of our aspirations in relation to membership of the Security Council of the United Nations.
Our discussions were immensely positive. They were structured towards the future initiatives that we must take together and we exchanged views on the opportunities that exist to strengthen our cultural, educational and economic links.
Vietnam, like Ireland, has a strong sense of identity and values its vibrant cultural traditions – traditions that provide a rich soil for the cultivation of relations between our two countries, and also ones that can provide guidance on our paths to the future.
We discussed how Ireland has a small but active community established here in Vietnam, and whose members play a valuable role as ambassadors for Ireland and as friends of Vietnam at home. The Vietnamese community in Ireland plays a similarly active role in enriching Irish life, and its members are an important part of Irish society, which we value very much.
President Quang and I discussed the fact that both our countries have traditionally placed, and continue to place, a strong emphasis on education. Both of our countries are fortunate to have young and dynamic populations, and education must be a crucial area of cooperation between Ireland and Vietnam. It is already an integral part of our growing relationship, fostering as it does exchange of ideas and a sharing of knowledge that benefits both our peoples.
I am delighted to see that an increasing number of Vietnamese students are travelling to Ireland. We do look forward to welcoming ever more of your young people to our internationally renowned Higher Education Institutes in years to come. These mutually beneficial partnerships will strengthen long term research and intellectual links between our nations, as well as deepening even more the friendship that unites us.
Both President Quang and I are keen to expand our trade relationships, to the mutual benefit of the people of our two countries.
This morning I was delighted to witness agreements between Vietnamese and Irish companies in the area of renewable energy, mobile technology, software and medical technology, as well as a number of agreements in the area of education.
We discussed the changes in the economic circumstances of both of our countries in recent times and how Ireland and Vietnam can cooperate in building bridges, on the one hand to the European Union and on the other hand a bridge to the 600 million people of the ASEAN community.
I also look forward to learning more about Vietnam’s efforts in forging a sustainable future for all of its people. Indeed, there are many challenges ahead for all of us, and I believe that we have much to learn from one another, much to do together, and that it is important that we move forward in unison, in solidarity with each other, and mindful of the fragility of the beautiful planet that we share.
This year, as we in Ireland commemorate 100 years since a number of significant and violent events that set us on our path towards national independence and self-determination.”