National Assembly Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn and President of the National Assembly of Armenia Alen Simonyan hold talks in Hà Nội on Tuesday. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — National Assembly Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn and President of the National Assembly of Armenia Alen Simonyan on Tuesday agreed to consider signing a cooperation agreement between the two National Assemblies in order to establish a legislative basis for strengthening parliamentary collaboration.

They were speaking during talks in Hà Nội following an official welcome ceremony.

Highlighting that this was the first visit made by the head of the Armenian legislature to Việt Nam after more than 30 years of establishing bilateral diplomatic relations, Mẫn said Việt Nam attached importance to and wished to strengthen the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Armenia.

He was pleased to witness that in recent years, Armenia had made steady steps in socio-political stability, economic development and affirmed its role and position in the international arena.

Noting that the two countries had continuously intensified political, diplomatic and cooperation connections in various fields, President of the National Assembly of Armenia Alen Simonyan wished to discuss with National Assembly Chairman Mẫn on measures to promote parliamentary cooperation, including the signing of a cooperation agreement, establishing joint working groups and fostering bilateral relations in economics, trade, science, technology education and tourism.

The two leaders were glad to witness progress in high-level exchanges including an official visit made by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to Việt Nam in July 2019, a meeting in October this year between General Secretary Tô Lâm and the Armenian Prime Minister on the sidelines of the 19th Francophone Summit.

The two countries have coordinated and supported each other in the international arena, especially within the framework of the United Nations, the Francophone Community and other international organisations and multilateral forums.

The two-way trade turnover in the first ten months of 2024 reached nearly US$424 million, up 28.9 per cent over the same period in 2023. Armenia has a number of direct investment projects in Việt Nam, including an electronic components manufacturing factory with a registered capital of $12.9 million in Quảng Nam Province. Việt Nam also encourages businesses to invest in Armenia, especially in advantageous fields such as agriculture, food processing and textiles.

Alen Simonyan agreed that in addition to common challenges, the current context also held potential opportunities for Armenia and Việt Nam to further strengthen cooperation. As a member state of many bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements, Armenia was actively promoting economic, trade and investment cooperation with other countries.

The two leaders pledged to effectively implement existing cooperation mechanisms and agreements, including the Free Trade Agreement between Việt Nam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) to create breakthrough changes in bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

They also vowed to continue to coordinate effectively at regional forums and support the stance of ASEAN and Việt Nam on the East Sea (internationally known as the South China Sea) issue of resolving disputes by peaceful means, on the basis of international laws, the United Nations Charter, the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, especially in issues related to peace, stability and sustainable development.

Regarding the proposals of the Armenian leader on promoting bilateral cooperation in science, technology, opening direct flights, NA Chairman Mẫn suggested that the two sides discuss and agree to implement specific cooperation in these fields.

He suggested that localities of both sides soon promote the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on twinning cooperation to promote potential areas of cooperation, especially tourism.

Mẫn invited the President of the National Assembly of Armenia to send a high-level delegation to attend the Parliamentary Forum on Francophone cooperation on sustainable agriculture, food security and climate change organised by the Vietnamese National Assembly in January 2025 in Cần Thơ City. —VNS