Manila (VNA)♊ – Vice Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly Nguyen Duc Haipaid courtesy calls to, met with and held working sessions with leaders of thePhilippine Congress and Department of Finance, as well as heads of delegations from Laos,Cambodia, Russia, Japan and Canada, as part of his working trip to thePhilippines to attend the 31st Annual Meeting ofthe Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF-31) from November 23-26.

While paying courtesy calls to President of the Philippine Senate Juan MiguelZubiri, Speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives Martin Romualdez,and holding a working session with Secretary of Finance Benjamin Diokno, Haiaffirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to its strategic partnershipwith the Philippines, and expected that both sides would continue stepping upcooperation in all areas, including politics, economy, national defence-security,culture, education, and people-to-people exchanges. In parliamentary cooperation, he proposed the two sides enhance collaboration in new spheres, both bilaterally and multilaterally.

On the East Sea issue, Hai asserted that ensuring security and safety of navigation andoverflight in the East Sea is crucial for all countries in the region.

𝓀 The NA leader also suggested the Philippine Congress continue creating favourable conditions for theVietnamese community living and working in the host country, and workingclosely together to properly settle issues at sea in bilateral relations.

The Philippine leaders affirmed that they treasure the Philippines-Vietnam strategic partnership and hoped that the two countries wouldcontinue sharing experience in national construction and development, andsafeguarding national sovereignty over seas and islands. They also suggested the two nations continue to supporteach other at global and regional forums, and in maritime issues. Meeting with Vice Chairman of the Lao National Assembly SommadPholsena, Hai stressed that Vietnam always pays top priority to the special traditionalrelationship with Laos, stands side by side with and strongly supports Laos’s national construction and development process. Vietnam also supports and stays ready to assist Laos insuccessfully undertaking the role of ASEAN Chair in 2024 and Chair of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) in 2023-2024, he said. He proposed the two legislatures continue with experiencesharing and mutual support in areas of shared interest. There should be closecoordination and effective monitoring of the implementation of agreements signedbetween the two countries, and mutual support at global and regional forums aswell.

Sommad, for his part, expressed his desire to learn fromVietnam's experience in budget allocation and socio-economic development.

🍌 Meeting with First Vice President of the Cambodian NationalAssembly Cheam Yea, Hai suggested further facilitating all-level meetings andupholding the role of the legislative bodies in promoting the bilateral relations.

Cheam Yea told the Vietnamese leader that Cambodia alwaysprioritises strengthening close relations with Vietnam in politics, economy, trade, investment, culture, and education, especially in border demarcation and marker planting-related issues.

He sought the Vietnamese legislature’s continued assistance inhuman resources development and scholarships for Cambodian officials,especially in technical and technological fields. He also wished that twocountries further boost trade, tourism, and, most importantly, increaseinvestment from Vietnam.

☂ In their meeting, First Deputy Speaker of theFederation Council of Russia and Co-Chair of theFederation Council Cooperation Group with the Vietnamese NA Andrey Yatskin and NAVice Chairman Nguyen Duc Hai discussed plans to push forward the bilateral ties in the comingtime, including the resumption of direct flights and the use of nationalcurrencies for payment, among others.

Yatskin said as 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of the signing ofthe Treaty on the Principles of Friendly Relations betweenVietnam and Russia, celebration activities should be held in both nations. According to the Russian leader, Russia already drafted the 2024-2025cooperation plan. He hoped that Vietnam will approve and roll out it accordingto the schedule. In a meeting with member of the House of Representatives ofJapan HiraguchiHiroshi, Hai described Japan as a leading and important economic partner ofVietnam for many consecutive years. He also thanked the Japanese Government andpeople for their cooperation and support over the past years. Hiroshi hailed Vietnam as one of the priority destinations forJapanese enterprises and wished that Vietnam would create an environment conduciveto businesses operations in the country. Both sides affirmed their commitments to further developingeconomic ties according to the signed free trade agreement while fosteringcooperation in healthcare, particularly in the recruitment of medical staff andchildcare, especially considering Japan's labour shortage in these areas. Meeting head of the Canadian delegation Senator Stan Kutcher,Hai expressed his wish to make the bilateral comprehensive partnership grow strongerbased on mutual benefits. Vietnam welcomes Canada's new Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS), whichunderscores the central role of ASEAN and Vietnam's position in the region as a"trade window" and a "bridge”, he said. As this year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomaticties, they agreed that the two legislatures should jointly facilitate the exchangeof delegations at all levels, while advancing collaboration in fields of sharedinterest such as trade, investment, education and training, national defence andsecurity, biotechnology, tourism, climate change, water resource management,and more./.