National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue’s official visits to Indonesia and Iran, and attendance in the 44th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-44) from August 4 to 10 have reaped successful results.
– National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue’s official visits to Indonesia and Iran, and attendance in the 44th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-44) from August 4 to 10 have reaped successful results.
Bui Van Cuong, NA Secretary General and Chairman of the NA Office, said the Vietnamese delegation, led by Chairman Hue, made substantive contributions to AIPA-44, held in Indonesia, helping promote cooperation among member parliaments.
Meanwhile, the official visits to Indonesia and Iran were new milestones in Vietnam’s relations with the two countries.
During the trip, Chairman Hue signed two cooperation agreements of the Vietnamese NA with the People’s Representative Council of Indonesia and the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran. The signing of the deals was critically important, paving the way for new cooperation activities in the time to come, according to Cuong.
At AIPA-44, themed “Responsive Parliaments for a Stable and Prosperous ASEAN”, the top legislator attended the opening session and delivered an important speech. He gave five proposals, stressing the importance of enhancing solidarity and promoting the centrality and strategic value of ASEAN, and highlighting the importance of ASEAN parliaments in continuing to boost their role in making laws, creating a favourable legal framework, and increasing supervision over ASEAN governments’ implementation of the ASEAN Community blueprints 2025.
Vu Hai Ha, Chairman of the NA Committee for External Relations, said the Vietnamese delegation actively participated in AIPA committees’ meetings and dialogues with observers.
The delegation put forth three initiatives through three draft resolutions on digital transformation led by women and for women; promoting innovation, transfer, application, and development of science-technology serving sustainable growth and development; and stepping up ASEAN guidance on responsible investment in the fields of food, agriculture and forestry. Vietnam also co-sponsored some other important resolutions.
The drafts proposed by the Vietnamese delegation were welcomed by other countries. They were approved at the meetings of AIPA committees and submitted to the General Assembly for adoption at the last session, Ha noted.
The official visit to Indonesia was the first to the archipelago nation by Chairman Hue and also the first by an NA leader of Vietnam in 13 years. He engaged in a hectic and also fruitful schedule within three days, when he met politicians, scholars, businesses, and the media of Indonesia.
Speaker of the People’s Representative Council of Indonesia Puan Maharani highly valued the significance of the visit, which took place amid the 10th anniversary of the two countries’ strategic partnership. During their talks and meetings with Hue, Indonesian leaders affirmed that Vietnam is a partner of strategic importance of Indonesia in the region.
For his part, Chairman Hue said the closer the Vietnam - Indonesia cooperation is, the farther ASEAN will move.
NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf exchange the signed agreement in Tehran on August 8. (Photo: VNA)
Following the trip to Indonesia, he paid his first official visit to Iran, and this was also the first by an NA leader of Vietnam to this Middle Eastern country in 24 years. It was held amid the 50th anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic ties.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Do Hung Viet said meeting with the top legislator of Vietnam, Iranian leaders, scholars, businesses, and friends affirmed that the visit would herald a new development phase for bilateral relations. They also stressed their belief in a bright future of cooperation between the two countries.
The visit has created a new impetus for the Vietnam - Iran economic ties to grow substantively and effectively on par with the sound political connections, Viet added.
Aside from the signing of the NA’s cooperation agreements with the People’s Representative Council of Indonesia and the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran, the Vietnam - Indonesia and Vietnam - Iran forums on policies and laws were also held to foster economic, trade, and investment links. Thirty cooperation deals were inked between Vietnamese businesses and Indonesian and Iranian firms on those occasions.
In both Indonesia and Iran, Chairman Hue received heads of the Indonesia - Vietnam and Iran - Vietnam friendship associations.
He said people-to-people exchanges form the “strongest roots” for promoting Vietnam’s multifaceted relations with the countries. He also expressed his hope that apart from holding people-to-people exchanges, the associations remain bridges connecting Vietnam with the countries and helping strengthen mutual understanding and cooperation.
