Chairman of the National Assembly Vương Đình Huệ meets and holds talks with Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Viktorovich during his official visit to Việt Nam from October 15-16. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI – Chairman of the National Assembly Vương Đình Huệ confirmed that Russia is always a top priority in Việt Nam's foreign policy, and Việt Nam places great importance on strengthening and enhancing the comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia across all key channels.

He was speaking on Sunday after presiding over the welcome ceremony and meeting with Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Viktorovich Volodin during his official visit to Việt Nam from October 15-16.

The NA Chairman highly valued the significance of the visit as an important event that would contribute to strengthening and enhancing the friendly and cooperative relations between the two parliaments and countries.

Chairman Vyacheslav Viktorovich Volodin said both parliaments needed to contribute more to the promotion of bilateral relations and explore new forms of cooperation to further develop the bilateral ties, especially in economic, trade, and investment relations.

He noted the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation comprised of representatives from five major political parties, and all the members shared a strong desire and support for the development of cooperation with Việt Nam. 

He also said that in 2019, around 572,000 Russian citizens visited Việt Nam. He expressed the desire for both countries to create favourable conditions for their people to engage in various cultural exchanges, visits and tourism activities and to eventually restore these numbers after the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the dialogue, both sides were pleased about the positive developments of relations between the two countries and agreed that they should continue to strengthen high-level delegation exchanges and collaborations to further advance practical and effective cooperation through all channels, particularly through party and parliamentary channels.

NA Chairman Huệ affirmed Việt Nam's support for Russia's active role in the Asia-Pacific region concerning regional processes and issues, and said that Việt Nam was prepared to act as a bridge to promote cooperation between Russia and ASEAN countries.

Both sides agreed to coordinate on multilateral forums within ASEAN and the United Nations. In this spirit, NA Chairman Huệ asked Russia to support the positions of ASEAN and Việt Nam in the peaceful resolution of disputes based on international law, the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and through Russia-ASEAN relations to actively contribute to the early establishment and implementation of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (internationally known as the South China Sea).

In discussions about economic, trade and investment cooperation, they evaluated that both sides had actively coordinated to implement agreements achieved at the 24th meeting of the Việt Nam-Russia Intergovernmental Committee on Economic, Trade and Scientific and Technological Cooperation.

NA Chairman Huệ proposed that Russia simplify import procedures for Vietnamese agricultural and aquatic products. He also suggested advancing negotiations and amendments to the Free Trade Agreement between Việt Nam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) with the goal of increasing bilateral trade to US$10 billion by 2030.

Both leaders regarded cooperation in the fields of oil, gas and energy as a crucial pillar of the comprehensive strategic partnership between Việt Nam and Russia. NA Chairman Huệ expressed gratitude to Russia for continuing to offer 1,000 scholarships to Vietnamese students annually and recommended maintaining and enhancing joint projects in the field of science and technology.

The top legislator also said Việt Nam wished to continue maintaining high-level contacts and working mechanisms in various areas, promote vocational education cooperation and resume negotiations on a Government Agreement regarding the attraction and employment of Vietnamese citizens to work in Russia.

Additionally, Việt Nam wanted to enhance cooperation in the field of tourism and overcome obstacles to reopen direct flights between the capitals of both nations, promoting people-to-people exchanges and cooperation between localities.

NA Chairman Huệ expressed his hope that the Russian Federation's Parliament and Government would continue to create favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community in Russia.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, NA Chairman Huệ expressed the hope that all parties would seek diplomatic and peaceful solutions based on the United Nations Charter and international law. He affirmed Việt Nam's readiness to play an active role in the reconciliation process.

Chairman Volodin expressed support for Huệ’s proposals. He emphasised the role of the Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Committee between the National Assembly of Việt Nam and the State Duma of the Russian Federation in carefully discussing these proposals and contributing to the expansion of cooperation programmes between the two parliaments and countries, as well as enhancing the monitoring of the implementation of agreements between the two governments.

In terms of parliamentary cooperation, NA Chairman Huệ expressed appreciation for the contributions of the State Duma of the Russian Federation and Chairman Volodin in promoting bilateral relations, including parliamentary cooperation.

He thanked the Russian Federation's Parliament for sending a delegation to attend the 9th Global Young Parliamentarians Conference held in Hà Nội, which made a positive contribution to the overall success of the conference.

He proposed both sides should increase exchanges at various levels, especially high-level delegations, and the committees of the National Assembly, the Friendship Parliamentarians Group, the Women Parliamentarians Group, the Young Parliamentarians Group to share experiences and enhance cooperation, consultation, and mutual support on multilateral platforms.

Chairman Volodin expressed confidence that relations between the two parliaments and countries would continue to reach new heights.

He also extended an invitation to NA Chairman Huệ to make an official visit to the Russian Federation and co-chair the 3rd meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Committee, which NA Chairman Huệ accepted with pleasure. – VNS