At the invitation of the Party General Secretary, State President Nguyen Phu Trong, Sultan of Brunei Darussalam Haji Hassanal Bolkiah made a state visit to Vietnam from 26 to 28, March 2013. The visit was an important milestone in the traditional and cooperative relations between Vietnam and Brunei, and expected to bring bilateral ties to a new height.

Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah was welcomed at the Presidential Palace, had talks with General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong, met with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. On this occasion, the Sultan paid a floral tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum, laid a wreath at the Monument to the Martyrs and Heroes.

At the meetings, the two sides exchanged views on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual concern, reaffirming the importance of traditional friendship relations between Vietnam and Brunei. The two sides noted the importance of maintaining the exchange of delegations at all levels, including the mechanism of the Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) in order to seek cooperation opportunities for mutual benefit, while strengthening partnership and trust between the two countries.

The two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in order to facilitate and promote a balanced and sustainable two-way trade turnover, striving for US$500 million by 2025; maximize preferential market access for goods and services of the two countries on the basis of free trade agreements, including potential markets in the East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP - EAGA) and the Mekong sub-region, create a favorable environment for businesses, promote links between businesses of the two countries, participate in trade fairs and quickly remove obstacles for businesses for mutual interest. The two sides pledged to cooperate closely especially in agricultural sector, particularly livestock and agricultural products, including poultry meat, rice, fresh fruits and vegetables, fisheries, technical capacity building, production cooperation and Halal food certification for businesses which meet international standards for food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical products to export their products to Muslim countries worldwide.

Expressing satisfaction at the two-way investment, the two sides reaffirmed their strong support for the enhancement of bilateral investment, especially in the areas of government procurement, public services and infrastructure development, seafood, food processing, manufacturing and energy. Besides, both sides hoped to accelerate negotiations and signing of a protocol to supplement the Agreement on avoidance of double taxation signed in 2007.

The two sides agreed to enhance cooperation between educational institutions through student and teacher exchanges, joint research and training programs, early hold the second meeting of the Education Working Group, facilitate provision of licenses to Vietnamese working in Brunei and vice versa on the basis of regulations and policies of each country; consider the extension of visa exemption period for ordinary passport holders from 14 to 30 days and for diplomatic and official passport holders from 14 to 90 days.

The two sides reaffirmed the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, security, stability, safety, freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea, emphasizing the need to strengthen trust, peacefully settle disputes in line with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Both sides committed to support for the full and effective implementation of the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea in (DOC), hailed the progress in cooperation between ASEAN and China as well as in substantive negotiations to reach an effective Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) in an agreed roadmap.

Affirming important progress in defense cooperation, especially through the effective implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Cooperation in 2005 and the Memorandum of Understanding on Naval Cooperation in 2013, the two sides agreed to work closely and support each other in multilateral defense forums, especially within the ASEAN frameworks such as ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) and ASEAN+ (ADMM +), ASEAN Chiefs of Defense Forces’ Meeting (ACDFM) and ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

The ceremony of Vietnam’s accession into the ASEAN as its 7th member which took place in Bandar Seri Begawan of Brunei in 1995 has become an important milestone in the history of diplomatic relations between the two countries. During nearly 30 years of diplomatic relations, experiencing many changes in the region and in the world, the cooperation between Vietnam and Brunei has been constantly strengthened, obtained achievements in the fields of economy, politics, foreign relations, security, national defense, culture, education, among others. The establishment of Vietnam-Brunei comprehensive partnership was a very important step, marking both quantity and quality developments in bilateral ties, reflecting the common will of the leaders of the two countries to deepen and make bilateral relations substantial and effective in line with regional and international trends.