Chairman of the National Assembly Vương Đình Huệ. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Vương Đình Huệ will attend the 44th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-44) and make official visits to Indonesia and Iran from August 4 to 10, which are expected to deepen Việt Nam's ties with these two countries.

The activities were at the invitation of the Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives and AIPA President Puan Maharani; and Speaker of the Iranian Consultative Assembly Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf.

Huệ's official visit to Indonesia from August 4 will help promote Việt Nam parliamentary cooperation with other ASEAN countries and create a new motivation for the Việt Nam-Indonesia strategic partnership, Vice Chairwoman of the NA's Committee for Foreign Affairs Lê Thu Hà said in an interview with the media on the threshold of Huệ’s trip.

NA Chair Huệ will attend the opening ceremony of AIPA-44 and deliver remarks at the conference, attend the executive committee meeting, meet with AIPA president on the sidelines, and participate in other important activities.

Hà said that for AIPA-44, Việt Nam has actively proposed three draft resolutions on “Digital transformation led by women and for women”, “Promoting innovation, transfer, application and development of science and technology for sustainable growth and development”, and “Promoting the adoption of ASEAN guidelines on responsible investment in the food, agriculture and forestry sectors”.

The three resolutions, to be introduced at meetings of Women Parliamentarians of AIPA (WAIPA) and the AIPA Economic Committee are very important, as they can help ASEAN exploit its advantages in science and technology and innovation to serve economic recovery and development; and make the most of potential to develop the food and agro-forestry sectors.

In addition, Việt Nam has contributed ideas to other draft resolutions at the Economic Committee, Social Committee, and Political Committee and will co-sponsor similar draft resolutions with other countries, Hà said.

Regarding the official visit to Indonesia, Hà noted this is the first trip by Huệ as Chairman of the National Assembly and also the first by a top legislator of Việt Nam to Indonesia in 13 years, since the visit by NA Chairman Nguyễn Phú Trọng in 2010.

The visit takes place as the two countries are celebrating the 10th anniversary of their strategic partnership, and considering upgrading ties to the next level.

It aims to continue implementing the 13th National Party Congress’s foreign policy, and actively consolidate and expand the political relationship between the two countries, and promote bilateral effective and practical cooperation in all fields, and via the Party, National Assembly, Government and people's diplomacy channels, thus contributing to enhancing political trust.

The visit’s message affirms the priority Việt Nam gives to developing and promoting friendship and multi-faceted collaboration in the region to open up new economic and trade opportunities and create a new impetus to strengthen the bilateral strategic partnership in a more extensive and effective manner.

Huệ will have talks with the Indonesian President of the National Assembly and Speaker of the House of Representatives of Indonesia Puan Maharani, and renew the cooperation agreement between the two countries' legislative bodies.

The Vietnamese leader is also scheduled to meet with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, attend the legal and policy forum to promote economic and trade cooperation and meet with the local Vietnamese community and businesses in Indonesia.

Hà added that the two countries’ legislative bodies have maintained good relations through regular delegation exchanges, and coordination and stance sharing on regional and international issues of mutual concern at multilateral forums.

She expressed her hope that with the determination of the leaders of Việt Nam and Indonesia, the relations between the two parliaments will grow further in the coming time.

After Indonesia, NA Chairman Huệ will also pay an official visit to Iran, his first in this capacity, and one that will mark a particularly important milestone in paving the way for further expansion of multifaceted cooperation between the two legislatures in the coming time, said Vice Chairman of the NA’s Committee for Foreign Affairs Lê Anh Tuấn.

The visit to Iran is made at the invitation of the Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf.

In a recent interview, Tuấn said ties between the Vietnamese NA and the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran have been growing, evidenced by official visits, exchanges and meetings by their leaders. The friendship parliamentarians’ groups of both countries have also engaged in meetings and working sessions in person and in online formats.

He added that the top legislator's visit will take place at a time when the two countries are celebrating the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties, marking nearly 25 years since the Iran visit in 1999 by NA Chairman Nông Đức Mạnh and five years after the Việt Nam visit by the top Iranian legislator in 2018.

According to the official, the visit will contribute to facilitating the exchange of delegations at all levels, especially leaders of the legislature, the Council for Ethnic Minority Affairs, the NA committees, the young parliamentarians’ group and the friendship parliamentarians’ group, in order to share information and experience in legislative activities.

It is also expected to uphold the NA’s role in overseeing law enforcement and realising international agreements and treaties that have been signed or stepped up for signing, thereby creating a legal framework to bolster bilateral cooperation.

It is meant to further improve the effectiveness of coordination mechanisms at multilateral parliamentary forums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and other multilateral parliamentary organisations.

At the same time, the trip is also expected to contribute to nurturing bilateral collaboration from central to ministry and local levels, he said.

During the official visit to Iran, NA Chair Huệ is expected to hold talks with Speaker of the Parliament of Iran Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, sign a cooperation agreement between the two countries' parliaments, meet with President Ebrahim Raisi, and attend the legal and policy forum to enhance economic trade and investment cooperation.

He will also deliver remarks at the Institute for Political and International Studies in Tehran, as well as meet leaders of a number of agencies and localities in Iran as well as the Vietnamese communities there. — VNS