Ankara (VNA) –National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan held talks with Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly Binali Yildirim in Ankara capital city onOctober 11 as part of the Vietnamese leader’s official visit to Turkey.

At the talks, Ngan congratulated Turkey on thesuccessful organization of the third Meeting of Speakers of Eurasian Countries’Parliaments, saying the hosting demonstrates increased position of Turkey aswell as its legislature in the region and the world at large.

Speaking highly of Turkey’s successful holding ofthe presidential and parliamentary elections last June, the Vietnamese toplegislator expressed her hope that with his experience in the political sphere,Binali Yildirim will lead the Grand National Assembly to complete tasksassigned by Turkish people and voters.

Yildirim said Ngan’s visit to Turkey is special asit takes place on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of diplomaticties between the two countries.

Speaking of Asia-Pacific, he stressed that Turkeyattaches importance to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The host highlighted the fruitful development ofthe political bonds between Vietnam and Turkey and suggested the two countriesalso develop legislative ties apart from relations between Governments.

He said the friendship parliamentarians’ groups ofthe two countries play an important role in promoting the legislative ties.

Welcoming the two governments’coordination in implementing several agreements signed during his officialvisit to Vietnam as the Prime Minister of Turkey 14 months ago, SpeakerYildirim said trade between the two countries is thriving, but unbalanced.Therefore, he stressed the need to carry out some projects to improve thesituation while expressing his belief in the realisation of the bringing thebilateral trade value to 4 billion USD by the end of 2020.

NA Chairwoman Ngan affirmed Vietnam’s foreign policy of standing ready to be afriend and a reliable partner of all the countries in the world community,stressing that the country’s international integration continues to be promotedand has obtained important outcomes. Vietnam successfully organised the APECYear in 2017 and the 26th Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific ParliamentaryForum (APPF 26) early 2018, and the World Economic Forum (WEF) on ASEAN 2018(WEF ASEAN 2018) recently.

On the two countries’ bilateral relationship, Ngan expressed her pleasure withthe sound development of the Vietnam-Turkey friendship and cooperation over thepast 40 years.

Vietnam always attaches importance to consolidating and developing friendshipand multi-faceted cooperation with countries in South Europe and the MiddleEast, including Turkey – a leading economic partner of Vietnam in the region,she said.

In 2018, the two countries have organised various activities to mark the 40thanniversary of diplomatic ties.

She thanked Turkey for its commitment to backing Vietnam’s run for a non-permanentseat at the United Nations Security Council for the 2020-2021 term, and wishedTurkey would continue supporting Vietnam at regional and international forums.

She affirmed Vietnam welcomes and stands ready to serve as a bridge to promoteties between Turkey and ASEAN.

The Vietnamese NA Chairwoman suggested both sides enhance delegation exchangesat all levels to bolster solidarity and mutual understanding of the twopeoples. Also, she asked Turkey to soon recognise Vietnam as a market economyand remove protectionism measures and anti-dumping duties on Vietnameseexports.

At the talks, both sides discussed global and regional issues of mutualinterest, including the East Sea issues. They agreed that maintaining peace,stability, security and aviation and navigation safety in the waters is ofmutual benefit of all countries.

The Speaker of Turkish Grand National Assembly affirmed that he supported thesettlement of disputes in the East Sea by peaceful means which are in line withthe international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Lawof the Sea (UNCLOS).

NA Chairwoman Ngan took the occasion to invite her Turkish counterpart to payan official visit to Vietnam.

The same day in Ankara, NA Chairwoman Ngan and the Vietnamese delegation laid awreath of flowers at the tomb of Kemal Mustafa Ataturk, the first President ofTurkey.-VNA