Hanoi (VNA)ꦇ – The Ministry of ForeignAffairs, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) and the Vietnam Association ofInternational Law (VSIL) co-organised the first PCA Vietnam Conferencein Hanoi on November 15.

The event was held on the occasion of the first anniversaryof the opening of the PCA Office in Hanoi which is the fifth of its kind in theworld along with the PCA headquarters in the Peace Palace in The Hague. Participants at the event discussed measures to build trustamong countries, new issues and trends in international investment, energytransition, the current situation, and the outlook of international commercialarbitration in Vietnam. Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vusaid that Vietnam supports the PCA's activities and actively promotes cooperationwith the PCA through its representative office in Hanoi. In the Resolution commemorating the 125th anniversary of thePCA, Vietnam and other countries at the United Nations General Assemblyrecognised the PCA's role in promoting peaceful measures to solve internationaldisputes, including conciliating measures in addition to arbitration procedures. He said that Vietnam respects basic principles of internationallaw, including the principle of peaceful solution of international disputes. To perfect the socialist rule-governed state, Vietnam needs aneffective legal system with a force of qualified lawyers, extensiveinternational integration, and a dynamic legal environment. Marcin Czepelak, Secretary General of the PCA, thanked theGovernment of Vietnam, ministries, and agencies for supporting the PCA Officeduring the past year. He emphasised that the conference reflected the PCA's fundamentalvalues of peace, legal principles, and prosperity, creating opportunities forpolicymakers, experts, legal practitioners, and businesses to discuss recentdevelopments in conciliation procedures between countries, dispute resolutionprocedures by arbitration between countries and investors as well as amongbusinesses. Regarding the operation of the PCA Office in Hanoi in the pastyear, it dealt with nearly 30 cases, had activities to connect with the lawyerand arbitrator community in Vietnam, and held training activities for employees ofministries, agencies, and State-owned corporations in Vietnam. In the coming time, through its office in Hanoi, the PCA hopes tocontinue to coordinate with Vietnamese agencies to improve regulations onarbitration proceedings to help them meet international standards and create afavourable environment for international arbitration in Vietnam. Czepelak expected that the PCA Vietnam Conference to become an annualevent and Vietnam will become an arbitration venue in cases handled by thePCA./.