The diplomat made the remarks while meeting with the Danish Permanent Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Ulrik Federspiel, who is in Vietnam for a visit from March 28 to April 2.
Deputy Minister Phung thanked the Danish Government and people for its assistance to Vietnam and affirmed that the Danish-funded works and projects in the areas of fisheries, water supply, environment sanitation, judicial and administrative reform, agriculture and rural development, transportation, and support for small and medium businesses, have been operating efficiently, helping boost the national economy.
He proposed that Denmark continue extending official development assistance for Vietnam in the coming years while helping the country strengthen relations with the European Union and run for a non-permanent seat in United Nations Security Council in the 2008-2009 term.
The Danish Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs also described Vietnam as Denmark’s important partner in Asia. He spoke highly of the measures proposed by Deputy Minister Phung to enhance the friendship and cooperation between the two countries in the future.
The two senior officials said they were pleased at the continuous development of the Vietnam-Denmark ties in the political, economic, investment and cultural areas over recent years. They discussed measures to further boost bilateral cooperation, particularly in trade, investment and science-technology.
Phung informed his guest of the Vietnamese Government’s decision to establish a Vietnam division as part of the Vietnam-Denmark inter-governmental committee on economic, trade, investment and technology transfer cooperation.
The same day, the visiting diplomat made a courtesy visit to Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung.
