National Assembly Chairman Vương Đình Huệ during the talks. — VNA/VNS Photo Doãn Tấn

HÀ NỘI — Ties between Brunei and Việt Nam are flourishing, according to the two nations' top legislators.

National Assembly Chairman Vương Đình Huệ held online talks with Speaker of the Legislative Council of Brunei His Execellency Pehin Dato Abdul Rahman Taib yesterday.

Huệ suggested effectively carrying out bilateral co-operation mechanisms and better tapping bilateral co-operation potential, towards achieving two-way trade of US$500 million.

He said he expected Brunei to assist Vietnamese firms in achieving Halal food qualifications, making it easier for them to export products to the country.

The Vietnamese NA supports and is ready to work with the Legislative Council of Brunei for the development of a harmonious and self-resilient ASEAN Community, he affirmed.

The Vietnamese leader said parliaments should continue making active and responsible contributions to the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA)’s activities, including ensuring peace and stability; upholding common principles, values and standards; strengthening solidarity and the central role of ASEAN and abiding by law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), towards building a practical and effective Code of Conduct (COC) in the East Sea.

According to the chairman, ASEAN needs to build a regional economy with sustainable growth, place the people in the centre in policymaking while continuing to uphold ASEAN’s centrality, consolidate the rules-based regional architecture, and highlight international law, with a focus on multilateral co-operation.

Pehin Dato Abdul Rahman, for his part, hailed Việt Nam as one of the countries Brunei wants to import more farm produce from.

He lauded the Vietnamese NA for promoting important regional issues in its capacity as AIPA Chair and wished the two nations would work closely together within ASEAN and AIPA frameworks.

As the COVID-19 pandemic is spreading across the world, posing risks to economic recovery due to the insufficient supply of vaccines and vaccine production technology, Huệ highlighted the importance of fair sharing and access to COVID-19 vaccines worldwide as well as the digitalisation and application of information technology in the fight against the pandemic, which he said, requires close collaboration between legislative and executive agencies.

Vaccine issues need to be discussed at the 42nd ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly scheduled for August, he said.

Pehin Dato Abdul Rahman said Brunei supports the fair distribution of vaccines among nations, and emphasised the need for co-operation to ensure a fair supply of vaccines for every country and person.

On the occasion, the top Vietnamese legislator thanked Brunei for assisting Vietnamese citizens living and working in the country in getting vaccinations against COVID-19. — VNS