National Assembly Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn (right) meets Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus Igor Sergeyenko in Vientiane on Saturday. — VNA/VNS Photo

VIENTIANE — National Assembly Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn held a meeting with Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus Igor Sergeyenko in Vientiane on October 19, while there for the 45th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-45).

The Vietnamese top legislator congratulated Belarus on successfully holding the House of Representatives election in February 2024, and Sergeyenko on being elected as the Chairman of the House of Representatives of the NA of Belarus, expressing his belief that the Belarusian leader will succeed in his new role and contribute positively to the Việt Nam-Belarus relations.

Mẫn emphasised that Việt Nam always values the traditional friendship and cooperation with Belarus, which has been nurtured and promoted by the leaders and people of the two countries for more than 30 years. He stated that Việt Nam considers Belarus a trusted friend and partner, and hopes to strengthen cooperation with the country.

For his part, Sergeyenko agreed with Mẫn's remarks, stressing that based on the foundation of a trusted traditional relationship, Belarus always attaches importance to developing cooperation with Việt Nam in various fields.

Sergeyenko expressed his hope that Việt Nam will support efforts to promote cooperation between Belarus and ASEAN.

Regarding parliamentary cooperation, he said he hopes the two sides will strengthen collaboration through the friendship parliamentarian channel, suggesting that this form of cooperation should be implemented soon through online exchanges.

He took the occasion to convey an invitation from the President of Belarus to Vietnamese Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm to visit Belarus in the coming time, and also invited Mẫn to visit Belarus.

On behalf of the Party, State, and people of Việt Nam, Mẫn expressed sincere gratitude to the Belarusian NA for sending a delegation to the funeral of Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng in July, and for sympathising with the Vietnamese Party, State, and people over the heavy losses caused by Typhoon Yagi.

The Vietnamese top legislator affirmed that Việt Nam is ready to serve as a bridge to promote cooperation between Belarus and ASEAN.

He highly valued the Belarusian legislative body for establishing a new working group on cooperation with the Vietnamese NA, expressing his belief that close coordination between the two legislative bodies' groups will help promote the exchange of law-making experiences and enhance mutual understanding of each country's legislative mechanisms. He also suggested that the two groups hold exchanges, meetings, and develop specific action plans in the near future.

Mẫn also took the occasion to invite Sergeyenko to make an official visit to Việt Nam to further tighten and intensify the friendship and cooperation between the two nations. — VNS