RABAT — African countries play a key role for Việt Nam’s future success, according to National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân.

She was speaking during a visit to Morocco, saying the North African nation and Việt Nam have a lot in common, and can work together to develop friendship and good relations.

The Vietnamese leader made the statement during talks with Speaker of the Moroccan House of Representatives Habib El Malki in Rabat on Thursday, during her official visit to Morocco.

The Speaker spoke highly of the new developments of bilateral ties, saying the similarity in geographical position - Việt Nam as a gateway to Southeast Asia, and Morocco as a gateway to Africa - would bring many opportunities and possibilities between the two countries.

He thanked Chairwoman Ngân for inviting Morocco to attend the 26th Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum, describing it as a step towards implementing a cooperation agreement signed by the two sides.

Ngân said her visit aims to step up and deepen the friendship and multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries and the two law-making bodies. The Vietnamese delegation is comprised of Government members who will sign four cooperation agreements between ministries and localities. The documents are expected to exert positive impacts on the bilateral ties.

Ngân expressed her hope that as a member of the African Union (AU), Morocco will help boost the relations between Việt Nam and the AU. She pledged that Việt Nam is willing to act as an important bridge for the relations between Morocco and other ASEAN countries.

Host and guest agreed the two countries will increase the exchange of visits, especially high-level ones, and continue working closely at regional and international forums, especially in the UN, Francophonie, and the Non-Aligned Movement.

Regarding economic cooperation, Ngân said trade ties between the two countries remain modest, standing at US$212.7 million in 2018, noting the figure did not match potential and expectations.

In order to further bilateral economic ties, Ngân suggested connecting the two countries’ business communities, especially business operating in the promising fields of trade, tourism, and finance, towards establishing a Joint Business Council.

The two sides should facilitate investment promotion activities, hold international seminars, forums and fairs in each country, particularly in agriculture, mining, construction materials, chemicals, apparel, footwear and food processing, she said.

On regional and global issues of shared concern, Ngân said Việt Nam’s consistent stance on the peaceful settlement of sovereignty and territorial disputes on the basis of respect to international law and the United Nations (UN) Charter, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

On ties between the two legislatures, she said that parliamentary cooperation is one of the effective channels in Việt Nam-Morocco ties, making important contributions to stepping up bilateral multi-faceted partnership. Ngân praised the two law-making bodies for sharing professional experience; maintaining exchange, consultation and mutual support at multilateral forums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Francophone Parliamentary Assembly (APF).

On the basis of bilateral cooperation agreement signed in 2017, she proposed the Vietnamese legislature and the Moroccan House of Representatives boost the sharing of experience in the making of law and parliament governance. 

Later, both host and guest met the press to inform them the outcomes of talks.

In the morning the same day, NA Chairwoman Ngân and her entourage paid a floral tribute to King Mohamed V.

Chairwoman Ngân visited the Vietnamese Embassy and community in Morocco on Wednesday after arriving in Rabat to start her visit to the country. — VNS