HÀ NỘI — Chairwoman of the Việt Nam National Assembly Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân will pay an official visit to the Republic of Kazakhstan from Monday to Wednesday to enhance bilateral co-operation and promote legislative ties.

The visit is taking place at the invitation of Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of Kazakhstan Kassym Zhomart Tokayev and Chairman of the Mazhilis (lower house) of the Parliament Nurlan Nigmatulin.

This is the first-ever visit to Kazakhstan by a Vietnamese National Assembly head.

Over the years, high-ranking leaders of Việt Nam and Kazakhstan have regularly visited each other’s countries.

Both countries have affirmed their readiness to deepen ties between their parties and legislative bodies.

Việt Nam has always paid heed to developing friendship with Kazakhstan and considers it an important partner in Central Asia.

Kazakhstan has the largest area in Central Asia and a population of more than 16.6 million. The country is blessed with diverse natural resources and the world’s eighth-largest oil reserve.

The Caspian Sea of Kazakhstan boasts deposits of eight billion tonnes of oil and ranks third in the world in chrome, second in uranium, fourth in ore and tine and eighth in gold and coal. This is the reason for the great potential for economic co-operation between Việt Nam and Kazakhstan, especially in mining and oil and gas.

However, bilateral economic and trade ties still have untapped potential.

Việt Nam and Kazakhstan are members of the Việt Nam-Eurasian Free Trade Agreement (Việt Nam-EAEU FTA) which came into force in October 2016.

The two countries have also signed co-operation agreements in economy, trade and investment promotion facilitation, along with a number of memoranda of understanding. The documents include a pact between Việt Nam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) and State-owned oil and gas company of Kazakhstan (KazMunayGas), and another deal in mining and energy.

The two sides have also increased cultural exchanges, as reflected through the cultural day celebrations of Việt Nam and Kazakhstan in the respective countries.

In addition, Vietnamese and Kazakh legislative bodies have maintained collaboration, both bilaterally and multilaterally.

In 2013, the first Vietnamese NA delegation led by Vice Chairman Uông Chu Lưu visited Kazakhstan. In 2015, Chairman of the Mazhilis Kabibulla Dzhakupov visited Việt Nam and attended the 132nd General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. Việt Nam and Kazakhstan also established a friendship parliamentarians’ group to promote co-operation and exchange between their parliamentarians.

The upcoming official visit to Kazakhstan by the NA Chairwoman is expected to boost friendship and co-operation between the two countries and relations between the Communist Party of Việt Nam and political parties in the Kazakhstan parliament, especially the Nur Otan Party and the Communist People’s Party of Kazakhstan.

It is also hoped to foster bilateral partnerships in economy, trade, investment, energy and culture-education.

During the visit, the two sides are scheduled to discuss measures to maximise the Việt Nam-EAEU FTA and step up collaboration in legislative activities. — VNS