NA Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn and Vice Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus Ipatau Vadzim. — VNA/VNS Photo Doãn Tấn

HCM CITY — National Assembly (NA) Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn on April 29 hosted Vice Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus Ipatau Vadzim who is in HCM City to attend the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification (April 30, 1975 - 2025).

Mẫn stressed that Vadzim and the Belarusian delegation's attendance at the ceremony not only shows respect for the glorious history of the Vietnamese people, but also vividly demonstrates the traditional friendship between the two countries, which has been nurtured over many decades.

The leader said the Việt Nam - Belarus relationship is a strong traditional friendship, built on the foundation of mutual trust and respect.

The Vietnamese people always remember the great and valuable support from the people of Belarus and the former Soviet Union during Việt Nam's past struggle for independence, as well as post-war reconstruction, he continued, noting those sincere sentiments and assistance have laid the foundation for the relationship between the two countries today.

Regarding parliamentary cooperation, the Vietnamese NA appreciated the increasingly close relationship with the House of Representatives of Belarus, especially through the activities of the working group on cooperation between the two legislative bodies.

Exchanges, experience sharing, and coordination at multilateral parliamentary forums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) have contributed to enhancing mutual understanding and trust.

On this occasion, Mẫn asked Vadzim to convey his invitation to the Chairperson of the House of Representatives to pay an official visit to Việt Nam in the coming time to continue consolidating and expanding the legislative ties.

Vadzim affirmed the close ties between Belarus and Việt Nam, both during the past struggle for national liberation and the present efforts to develop together in a multipolar world. He emphasised that Việt Nam is an important and leading partner of Belarus in Southeast Asia and the Pacific region.

He expressed a desire for the two countries to promote people-to-people exchanges and strengthen cooperation in education and culture. He also mentioned the launch of a direct flight route between the two countries to beef up collaboration across fields.

The two sides agreed that in recent years, economic and parliamentary cooperation have become important pillars, contributing to deepening bilateral relations.

The agreement on visa exemption for ordinary passport holders between the two countries, effective from January 30, 2025, along with the activities of the Việt Nam - Belarus Intergovernmental Committee, has opened up many opportunities to promote trade, investment, and cooperation in such areas as industry, agriculture, science - technology, and education, they said.

Việt Nam wished to unlock the potential for cooperation with Belarus in manufacturing, machinery production, and clean energy, which are Belarus' strengths.

Belarus suggested that the two countries further expand cooperation, especially in the fields of artificial intelligence, technology, and digital economy, among others.

In particular, the Việt Nam - Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) Free Trade Agreement signed on May 29, 2015 and effective from October 5, 2016 has created conditions for the countries to promote trade and investment relations.

The two sides need to further expand their goods markets with ASEAN and the EAEU, host and guest said.

They also consented to increase high-level meetings between parliamentarians' groups, both in-person and online, and to devise specific cooperation programmes to improve the effectiveness of parliamentary activities, contributing to the sustainable development of each country.

The two legislatures will further support each other at multilateral parliamentary forums. — VNS