Hanoi (VNA) – Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly (NA) Tran Thanh Man held talks in Hanoi on November 19 with his Armenian counterpart Alen Simonyan, following an official welcome ceremony for the guest.

Alen Simonyan is on an official visit to Vietnam from November 17-23, the first by a top legislator of Armenia, after the two countries set up their diplomatic ties more than 30 years ago.

Man affirmed that Vietnam always values and wants to strengthen its traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Armenia.

Alen Simonyan said he hopes to discuss issues of mutual interest with his Vietnamese counterpart, aiming to establish joint working groups and promote cooperation in areas such as trade, economics, science and technology, education, and tourism.

Holding that the potential for bilateral collaboration remains huge, the President of the Armenian NA expressed a desire to boost cooperation in areas like defence and technology, while suggesting the two countries strengthen mutual support at international forums.

Man showed his delight at the positive developments of the bilateral relations across all areas in recent times, reflected through the promotion of high-level delegation exchanges and meetings.

In addition, bilateral economic and trade cooperation has been strengthened, with two-way trade reaching nearly 424 million USD in the first 10 months of 2024, marking a year-on-year increase of 28.9%. Armenia has also run a number of investment projects in Vietnam, while the latter encourages its businesses to invest in the former, particularly in the areas where there is a competitive advantage, including agriculture, food processing, and textiles.

Sharing the guest's view on the ample room for bilateral collaboration, Man suggested Armenia continue to promote all-level delegation exchanges, and effectively implement existing cooperation mechanisms and agreements, thereby strengthening mutual political trust. He also emphasised the importance of pushing ahead with the implementation of the Vietnam-Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) Free Trade Agreement to generate significant breakthroughs in bilateral economic and trade collaboration.

Additionally, Man proposed the two sides increase the sharing of information on the issues of shared concerns as well as their foreign policies, urging continued effective cooperation at regional forums. The leader called for Armenia’s support for ASEAN's and Vietnam's stance on the East Sea issue, and on addressing disputes through peaceful means, based on international law, the United Nations Charter, and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, particularly matters related to peace, stability, and sustainable development.

The top legislators reached a consensus on providing scholarships for students of the two countries and regularly organising cultural exchanges, and agreed to encourage relevant agencies to consider visa incentives to facilitate citizens’ travel.

Reflecting on the Armenian NA delegation's trip to the northern province of Ninh Binh, Man emphasised the importance of promoting cooperation between the two countries’ localities. He suggested local authorities from both sides move forward with signing memoranda of understanding on sister city partnerships to enhance cooperation in the areas where they have potential, particularly tourism.

The two sides said that they are considering the signing of a cooperation agreement between the two legislatures to establish a legal framework that will further enhance and deepen parliamentary cooperation, contributing to building political trust and mutual understanding, and fostering the fine friendship and collaboration between Vietnam and Armenia.

The host proposed strengthening the role of the legislative bodies in promoting the bilateral relations, particularly in supervising the implementation of international treaties and cooperation agreements between the two governments, and supporting the business communities and citizens living, investing, and doing business in respective countries. Additionally, he called for further close coordination at multilateral forums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APF).

He took this occasion to congratulate Armenia on successfully hosting the 10th Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians in September 2024, and invite the Armenian National Assembly to send a high-level delegation to the parliamentary forum on Francophone cooperation in sustainable agriculture, food security, and climate change, which will be hosted by the Vietnamese legislature in January 2025./.