National Assembly General Secretary and Chairman of the National Assembly Office Lê Quang Tùng. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — National Assembly (NA) Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn’s official visits to Armenia and Uzbekistan from April 2-8 breathed a fresh air to the sound traditional friendship between Việt Nam and the two nations while opening up an era of more comprehensive and effective cooperation aligned with their development goals, according to NA General Secretary and Chairman of the NA Office Lê Quang Tùng.

He told the press that Mẫn's working trip was a remarkable success, with both nations extending warm welcome to the Vietnamese delegation. It featured an substantive agenda, including high-level talks, meetings with top leaders of both countries, and business forums.

Spotlighting the outcomes of the visits, the NA General Secretary stated that they helped strengthen political trust and revitalised the ties between Việt Nam and the two Central Asian countries. Leaders of Armenia and Uzbekistan expressed admiration for Việt Nam's socio-economic achievements and its impressive journey towards national independence and development. They view Việt Nam as a primary partner in Southeast Asia and an exemplary model of international integration and hope for enhanced relations with the country.

Leaders of Việt Nam and the two nations concurred to intensify exchanges at all levels through Party, State, Government, parliamentary, and people-to-people connections. The high-ranking leaders of Armenia and Uzbekistan expressed their interest in visiting Việt Nam soon and extended invitations to Party General Secretary Tô Lâm and other key Vietnamese leaders to visit their countries in the coming time.

During the visits, the Vietnamese NA decided to set up friendship parliamentary groups with Armenia and Uzbekistan and signed cooperation agreements with the parliaments of both nations, helping solidify the legal framework for advancing the relations across all channels and sectors. Besides, NA Chaiman Man and leaders of the two countries agreed on enhanced coordination and mutual support in international organisations and at regional and multilateral forums.

Additionally, they were unanimous about measures to promote economic, trade, and investment cooperation, particularly by enhancing transport connectivity to facilitate trade. They laid stress on the significance of railway connections from Việt Nam to Central Asia, Kavkaz (the Caucasus), and through the East-West and North-South corridors.

According to Tùng, the leaders agreed to improve the legal framework to create favourable conditions for business and investment, especially in areas where both sides have strengths such as health care, textiles, energy and oil, agricultural processing, and aquaculture. They also affirmed that Việt Nam and the two countries boast huge potential for cooperation in education and training, science and technology, culture, sports, and tourism.

Looking ahead, the official outlined three key approaches for Vietnamese agencies to effectively implement the visits' outcomes. First, competent sides should work closely to translate high-level agreements into concrete programmes and plans with feasible roadmaps that align with the capabilities and interests of all parties. Second, Vietnamese agencies must regularly exchange information and coordinate effectively, maintaining communications with their counterparts in both countries to review progress, address bottlenecks, and advance the implementation of agreements. Third, active participation from organisations, businesses, and citizens through specific cooperation projects is essential. Vietnamese friendship associations, business organisations, and individuals who have studied, lived, or conducted business in Armenia and Uzbekistan can help foster connections and expand areas of cooperation.

Touching on the outcomes of the top legislator’s participation in the 150th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU-150), Tùng said this marked Mẫn's first international engagement in 2025, sending a clear message about Việt Nam's strong support for multilateralism in general as well as inter-parliamentary cooperation and the role of the IPU in particular.

This message takes on even greater significance in the current international turbulence, including great power competition, conflicts, rising protectionism, declining political commitment, and reduced resources for multilateral goals, particularly for implementing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and providing assistance to developing countries.

Chairman Mẫn delivered a significant speech at the plenary session, offering profound assessments of the current global situation along with specific proposals calling for parliamentary cooperation to address current challenges. IPU leaders and participating countries praised his message as aligned with the assembly's theme “Parliamentary action for social development and justice.” The message spotlighted the Party, State and National Assembly’s socio-economic development efforts with a people-centred approach.

On the sidelines of the event, he had bilateral meetings with the IPU President and Secretary-General as well as parliamentary leaders from various countries. Their discussions focused on measures to promote cooperation between Việt Nam and the IPU and its member parliaments and countries, and enhance the role of each parliament in expanding and deepening cooperation across all sectors.

Tùng said that Việt Nam will continue to refine its legal framework to support social development and equity policies, integrating IPU recommendations into its legislative, oversight, and national decision-making processes. Bilateral and multilateral parliamentary diplomacy will be paid due attention to promote cooperation between parliaments and within the inter-parliamentary frameworks for the common interests of nations and people worldwide. — VNA/VNS