Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong (R), who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, shakes hands with visiting Sultan of Brunei Haji Hassanal Bolkiah in Hanoi, Vietnam, March 27, 2019. Vietnam and Brunei decided here Wednesday to upgrade their bilateral relations to the comprehensive partnership. (Xinhua/VNA)

Vietnam and Brunei decided here Wednesday to upgrade their bilateral relations to the comprehensive partnership.

The decision was made at the meeting between General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President Nguyen Phu Trong and visiting Sultan of Brunei Haji Hassanal Bolkiah.

The two leaders stressed that the establishment of the comprehensive partnership renews motivation to enhance bilateral collaboration in a more effective and practical manner, especially in politics, defense, security, trade, investment, education, and people-to-people diplomacy, Vietnam News Agency reported.

Both sides agreed to strive for 500 million U.S. dollars in two-way trade at an early date, through trade and investment promotion as well as business connectivity activities.

Following their meeting, they issued a joint declaration on the establishment of the Vietnam-Brunei comprehensive partnership and witnessed the signing of a government-level memorandum of understanding on the use of a hotline to deal with illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

Also on Wednesday, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc met with Sultan of Brunei Haji Hassanal Bolkiah.