National Assembly Deputy Chairman Trần Quang Phương and the delegation from the Swedish parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs in Hà Nội on Monday. — VNA/VNS Photo An Đăng

HÀ NỘI — National Assembly Deputy Chairman Trần Quang Phương on Monday welcomed a delegation of the Swedish parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Led by the committee’s chair Aron Emilsson, the delegation is on a working visit to Việt Nam from March 2 to 5.

Expressing gratitude for Sweden’s support of Việt Nam's struggle for independence in the past and on its development path today, Phương said that Việt Nam values enhancing ties with Sweden.

The NA Deputy Chairman updated the Swedish delegation on Việt Nam’s socio-economic growth, saying that after nearly 40 years of Đổi mới (Renewal), the country has made substantial and comprehensive achievements on its development path, notably in sustainable poverty reduction and building new-style rural areas.

The Southeast Asian nation also made a commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Việt Nam also put efforts into revamping its political system and State management for better and more efficient governance, with the restructuring of its public sector largely completed.

Reiterating that Sweden is an important partner of Việt Nam in Scandinavia, Phương expressed satisfaction on the progress of their cooperation in trade, economy, investment, education and people-to-people exchanges.

The Vietnamese legislator proposed increasing high-level delegation exchanges, as well as collaboration at the Party, State and parliamentary levels to enhance political trust and cooperation momentum in other areas.

Particularly at the parliamentary level, the two countries are expected to increase exchanges among committees, focusing on policymaking, supervision and decision-making on national issues, especially in regard to the green transition, digital transformation, planning, renewable energy development and other parliamentary activities.

Phương suggested that the two legislative bodies continue their oversight on government policy implementation in their areas of collaboration, ensuring the alignment of cooperation agreements with national laws and international commitments.

The two leaders also support upgrading bilateral relations to a Strategic Partnership.

Underscoring the importance of Việt Nam-Sweden ties, Swedish parliamentarian Emilsson said he hoped to see further progress in bilateral cooperation based on past encouraging results.

The purpose of this working visit is to enhance mutual understanding and dialogues on issues of mutual concern, promote parliamentary cooperation and share experiences in policy development, he said.

As for the potential to elevate their ties to a Strategic Partnership in the future, Emilsson recommends increasing collaboration in digital skill training, trade and economic ties, as well as culture, education, science and technology, and national defence and security. — VNS