National Assembly Chairman Vương Đình Huệ on Wednesday held talks with Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle in London. VNA/VNS Photo Doãn Tấn

LONDON — Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Vương Đình Huệ has had a meeting with the speakers of the UK House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle and House of Lords John Mcfall on Wednesday in London during his official visit to the UK at the invitation of the latter two.

In the meeting with Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the two leaders expressed delight at the growing ties between Việt Nam and the UK that is at their height.

The Vietnamese top legislator stressed that Việt Nam attaches great importance to relations with the UK, an industrial power.

The UK parliament leader congratulated Việt Nam on overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic and socio-economic recovery, underlining that the UK also seeks to strengthen relations with the fast-growing, dynamic Việt Nam that is at a strategic location in the Southeast Asia region.

Underlining the UK's role in hosting COP 26 last year, Chairman Huệ said Việt Nam's commitments to net-zero by 2050 made at the conference is a strong demonstration of the country's political resolve to respond to climate change and its responsible contributions to global efforts.

Welcoming Việt Nam's ambition, the Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle said he would call on the UK and other European countries to provide support for Việt Nam in energy transition and climate response.

The two leaders agreed that the two country's authorities and businesses should be more active in capitalising on the UK-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA), to promote post-pandemic recovery and to respond to challenges related to supply chains, food security, and energy security.

The free trade framework has been serving as an important instrument to help encourage UK businesses to expand investment and operations in Việt Nam, especially in the areas of clean and renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, digital technologies, education, startup and innovation, and infrastructure. 

The two leaders noted that Việt Nam and the UK have made several achievements in education cooperation, but there is still ample room for further growth and measures should be devised to advance cooperation on this important front.

NA Chair Huệ said a UK-Việt Nam education conference would be held as part of his trip, involving several leading universities in the UK. He also asked the UK side to facilitate the return of Vietnamese students to UK universities post-pandemic, provide more scholarships to Vietnamese students and increase training courses, and student and teacher exchanges, as well as encourage UK universities to open more campuses and offices in Việt Nam.

Chairman Huệ reaffirmed Việt Nam's willingness to act as a bridge connecting the UK with ASEAN and asked for the House of Commons' backing for Việt Nam and ASEAN's stances on regional security issues.

The two sides also agreed to promote parliamentary ties, especially the contact between parliament's bodies and exchanges of lawmakers, stressing the role of parliaments in realising agreements signed between the two countries' Governments, the implementation of UN Sustainable Development Goals, and ratification of agreements and treaties on climate change and environment protection.

Chairman Huệ invited the House of Commons Speaker to visit Việt Nam.

National Assembly Chairman Vương Đình Huệ with Speaker of the House of Lords John Mcfall in London on Wednesday. VNA/VNS Photo Doãn Tấn

Later in the day, Huệ also met with the Speaker of the House of Lords John Mcfall, where the two said Huệ's visit held significant meaning as the two countries are looking to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2023.

The top Vietnamese legislator said Việt Nam welcomes the G7's decision to include Việt Nam among the first three countries to assist in realising COP 26's commitments, hoping that the UK would share its experience in building the roadmap and policies in this matter.

He also thanked the UK for having donated 2.7 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Việt Nam through bilateral channels and COVAX Facility.

The UK House of Lords Speaker highly appreciated Việt Nam's participation in international commitments to environmental protection and emissions reduction.

Amid rising geo-strategic competition and unpredictable world developments, it's important to bolster the two countries' ties, especially between legislators, John Mcfall said.

Chairman Huệ said he wants the two parliaments to closely cooperate, and make parliamentary ties an important pillar of the two countries' strategic partnership, contributing to further elevating the relations, building up political trust and enhancing people-to-people exchanges. — VNS