National Assembly Chairman Vương Đình Huệ (L) and President of the Chamber of Deputies of Argentina Cecilia Moreau in Buenos Aires on April 24. — VNA/VNS Photo

BUENOS AIRES — National Assembly Chairman Vương Đình Huệ held talks with President of the Chamber of Deputies of Argentina Cecilia Moreau in Buenos Aires on Monday morning (local time).

At the talks, held right after the welcome ceremony for the Vietnamese leader, Cecilia Moreau affirmed that the visit was extremely important in further strengthening the multifaceted cooperation between Việt Nam and Argentina in general and the relationship between the two legislative bodies in particular, especially on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of bilateral ties diplomatic relations (October 25, 1973 - 2023).

She admired President Hồ Chí Minh, the heroic country and people of Việt Nam in the past struggle for independence and freedom, and was impressed with the current socio-economic development of the country.

Highlighting the fine relationship between the two countries, especially in politics, economy, culture, parliament, and people-to-people exchange, she expressed her belief that the visit would contribute to deepening the Việt Nam-Argentina comprehensive partnership as well as the parliamentary relations between the two countries, both bilaterally and multilaterally.

NA Chairman Huệ congratulated Cecilia Moreau on being elected as President of the Chamber of Deputies of Argentina on March 1, 2023 and expressed his delight at the recent establishment of the Argentina-Việt Nam Friendship Parliamentary Group.

He affirmed that Việt Nam attached great importance to developing relations with Argentina, one of its leading partners in Latin America, and expressed his wish that the two countries would continue to strengthen exchanges and coordination in order to further develop the traditional friendship and cooperation between the two countries in a substantive, effective and intensive manner.

The two sides held that over the past time the Việt Nam-Argentina Comprehensive Partnership had developed positively, substantively and effectively in many fields, from politics-diplomacy, economy and trade, to education, agriculture and justice.

The nations had maintained delegation exchanges and high-level contacts; and effectively promoted cooperation mechanisms such as the Inter-governmental Committee and the political consultation between the two foreign ministries.

Both leaders showed their pleasure with the increasing two-way trade turnover, reaching more than US$4.8 billion in 2022, which continues to be a bright spot in the bilateral relationship.

Argentina is currently the third largest trading partner of Việt Nam in Latin America while Việt Nam is Argentina’s 5th largest important export market in Asia. The two sides have always cooperated and supported each other at international forums and organizations.

During the talks, the two sides agreed to promote the exchange of visits on all channels; coordinate in organising meaningful activities in celebration of the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations; effectively implement cooperation agreements and promote collaboration in agriculture, economy-trade, science-technology, education, tourism, sports and culture. At the same time, they would expand cooperation in new fields such as high-tech industry, digital transformation, innovation, climate change response, and sustainable growth; and strengthen cooperation between localities, thus pushing the comprehensive implementation of the Việt Nam-Argentina cooperation, towards the establishment of a strategic partnership in agriculture, industry and energy.

Huệ proposed Argentina speed up the early completion of the internal consultation process between member countries of the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) to together with Việt Nam, announce the start of negotiations on a MERCOSUR-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement. He suggested the Latin American country create favourable conditions for Việt Nam's key agricultural products to enter the Argentinean market, thereby balancing the bilateral trade in a long term and sustainable way.

The leaders agreed that the two parliaments should work together to promote, encourage and create favourable conditions for activities of the two countries’ businesses, including opening the market for their key agricultural products, supporting enterprises to access each other's markets to carry out business and investment activities, thus contributing to economic development for each country’s nation building and development cause. They should also promote the role of the legislative body in building and strengthening of a legal corridor to facilitate the implementation of bilateral cooperation activities in a stable and long-term manner.

Both host and guest appreciated the positive development of the two parliaments’ relationship, reflected through regular exchanges and support for each other's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. They agreed to continue strengthening cooperation in exchanging experience in lawmaking, supervision and decision-making on important issues; promoting coordination at multilateral forums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU); and supporting each other's stance on regional and international issues of mutual concern.

The Vietnamese top legislator showed his hope that the Congress of the Argentine Nation will send a delegation to attend the 9th Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians hosted by the Vietnamese NA in September. He also took the occasion to invite Cecilia Moreau to visit Việt Nam at an appropriate time.

At the end of the talks, the two leaders signed a cooperation agreement between the two legislatures.

On the same day, NA Chairman Huệ and the Vietnamese delegation laid a wreath at the monument to José de San Martín, the national hero of South American countries, in Buenos Aires.

Earlier on Monday afternoon (local time), they paid a floral tribute at the monument to President Hồ Chí Minh in the capital city of Argentina. — VNA/VNS