National Assembly Chairman Vương Đình Huệ and Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf signed a cooperation agreement between the parliaments of the two countries. VNA/VNS Photo Doãn Tấn

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam and Iran on Tuesday agreed to further enhance bilateral cooperation in various fields, particularly in trade and investment, to facilitate the entry of each country's key products into the other's market.

National Assembly Chairman Vương Đình Huệ held talks with Speaker of the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf during his official visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran at the invitation of the Speaker.

NA Chairman Huệ expressed his pleasure in visiting Iran, a country with a rich cultural heritage and long history, especially given both nations are celebrating 50 years of diplomatic relations this year.

He affirmed that Việt Nam highly valued the friendly relationship and multifaceted cooperation with Iran, a crucial partner in the Middle East region. Huệ highlighted the positive developments in the bilateral cooperation between the two countries in recent years, particularly in political, diplomatic, cultural, and people-to-people exchanges.

For his part, Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf welcomed Huệ's visit, emphasising that Việt Nam is a significant partner for Iran in the Asia-Pacific region. He expressed confidence that the cooperation between Việt Nam and Iran, as well as between their parliaments, would witness remarkable growth in the coming period.     

The two leaders exchanged views and reached a consensus on specific measures to enhance bilateral cooperation in the future.

These measures included strengthening exchanges at all levels, especially high-level delegations and leadership of economic sectors and localities from both countries; alongside boosting people-to-people exchanges, as well as cultural and artistic activities to deepen mutual understanding and enhancing collaboration between committees and bodies of the parliaments, parliamentary friendship groups, women and young parliamentarians' groups.

They also agreed to ensure effective monitoring and implementation of agreements and commitments between the two nations to enhance mutual support in international forums and prepare for the 10th meeting of the Việt Nam-Iran Intergovernmental Committee in Hà Nội.

Both sides also agreed to intensify meetings and connections between localities and businesses of both nations to explore investment opportunities.

NA Chairman Huệ suggested that Iran increase imports of Vietnamese agricultural products such as rice, tea, pepper, coffee, and rubber while expressing Việt Nam's readiness to facilitate Iran's exports of fruits, including dried fruits, to Việt Nam.

Both sides concurred on cooperation in producing products according to Halal Food Standard.

The leaders also agreed to enhance customs cooperation and revive mechanisms of collaboration between the two nations, such as the Joint Working Group on banking cooperation and the Việt Nam-Iran Trade Task Force, to seek breakthroughs in economic and trade cooperation.

Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf noted that Iranian businesses were increasingly interested in the Vietnamese market due to its political stability and favourable investment-business environment, aiming to strengthen trade and agricultural cooperation with Việt Nam.

During the talks, both sides discussed various measures to enhance cooperation in potential areas such as science and technology, digital transformation, education and training, as well as promoting and attracting tourism from each country.

Huệ took this occasion to invite the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament to visit Việt Nam, which he gladly accepted.

Huệ also invited the Iranian Parliament to send a delegation to participate in the 9th Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians, scheduled to be held in Hà Nội in September.

NA Chairman Huệ and Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the two parliaments. — VNS