President of the National Assembly of Armenia Alen Simonya visits the factory of Huyndai Thành Công in Ninh Bình Province on Monday. — VNA/VNS Photo

NINH BÌNH — The northern province of Ninh Bình hopes to build cooperative relations with Armenia’s historical cities and heritage urban areas, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Đoàn Minh Huấn told visiting President of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia, Alen Simonyan on Monday.

The guest is on an official visit to Việt Nam until November 23, following an invitation from his Vietnamese counterpart Trần Thanh Mẫn.

Huấn told the president about Ninh Bình's geographical location and explained that their model is highly praised by UNESCO for its green, sustainable and harmonious development, based on the protection of natural resources and the revival of cultural heritage. At the same time, it promotes harmony between people and nature, works to transform its cultural heritage into an important resource for developing cultural industries, tourism and the heritage economy, which are key economic sectors of the province.

Ninh Bình aims to build a millennium-old heritage city and a creative city with its own unique identity. It also aims to become a centre for cultural industries and creative economies worldwide, so as to make the most of the soft power of culture, he added.

Stressing that Ninh Bình is the first destination in his official visit to Việt Nam, Alen Simonyan was impressed with the province's development potential, particularly in the fields of car manufacturing and tourism.

He also noted that Armenia is an important partner of Việt Nam and that this relationship will continue to be strengthened, not only at the national but also at the local level. Therefore, following this visit, his entourage will explore the possibility of developing a cooperation programme between Ninh Bình and Armenian localities.

The Armenian NA delegation toured many industrial and scenic sites in the province.

Việt Nam and Armenia established diplomatic relations in 1992. The two countries have obtained great achievements in national construction, socio-economic development and international integration.

Political ties between Việt Nam and Armenia are growing, with the exchange of all-level delegations. These visits have contributed to maintaining traditional relations and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries. The two sides wish to promote all-round and substantive collaboration on par with the strong traditional friendship as well as the potential of the two countries.

Bilateral economic and trade cooperation has shown positive signs thanks to the Free Trade Agreement between Việt Nam and the Eurasian Economic Union, of which Armenia is a member. Việt Nam - Armenia trade reached US$62.6 million in 2022, up 469 per cent from a year earlier and hit $342 million in 2023, an increase of 516 per cent compared to 2022.

There remains room for both countries to boost cooperation in such areas as economics, trade, science and education. — VNA/VNS