The working trip has special significance and importance on both multilateral and bilateral levels.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man warmly welcomed Armenian National Assembly Chairman Alen Simonyan to pay an official visit to Vietnam in November 2024.

Special mark, showing Vietnam's very high commitment at the IPU forum

- From April 2 to 8, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and his wife, along with a high-ranking delegation of our country, will attend the 150th Inter- Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly and pay official visits to the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Uzbekistan. Could you please tell us about the significance and importance of this working trip of the National Assembly Chairman?

- At the invitation of the President and Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), President of the Senate of the Uzbekistani Parliament Tanzila Narbaeva and President of the Armenian Parliament Alen Simonyan, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man, on behalf of the leaders of the Party and State of Vietnam and his wife, attended the 150th General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU-150) and paid an official visit to the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Uzbekistan from April 2 to 8. This is a working trip of special significance and importance on both multilateral and bilateral levels.

First of all, the participation of National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man in the 150th IPU General Assembly is a special mark, showing Vietnam's new spirit and high commitment at this important multilateral parliamentary forum, in the context of the current world situation requiring each country to join hands to discuss, share experiences, and propose initiatives to solve common challenges.

This important meaning is shown through the following three highlights:

Panorama of the talks between National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and Armenian National Assembly Chairman Alen Simonyan during his official visit to Vietnam in November 2024. Photo: Lam Hien

Firstly, with the theme “ Parliamentary action for development and social justice” , the 150th IPU General Assembly has chosen a very appropriate and timely theme in the context that the world is still facing many traditional and non-traditional security challenges, increasing inequality between countries and regions, while political commitments and resources in the fields of hunger eradication, poverty reduction, social development, response to climate change, etc. tend to decrease. More than ever, countries need to coordinate actions and promote multilateral cooperation to overcome global challenges.

In that spirit, the 150th IPU General Assembly is an opportunity for parliaments of all countries to review, discuss and agree on actions to promote the role of each member parliament in formulating and supervising the implementation of policies and laws, and promoting the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. The theme and spirit of action of the 150th IPU General Assembly are also in full harmony with the spirit of the United Nations Social Development Summit, which will be held in Qatar in November 2025.

Deputy Foreign Minister Le Thi Thu Hang emphasized that the working trip of National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man has special significance and importance on both multilateral and bilateral levels.

Second, the participation of the Head of the Vietnamese National Assembly in the 150th IPU General Assembly is a vivid demonstration that Vietnam strongly supports multilateralism, attaches importance to the role of the IPU, and continues to affirm that the Vietnamese National Assembly is a proactive, active, and responsible member of the IPU. The working trip is both the first multilateral foreign activity of the National Assembly Chairman in 2025 and aims to continue implementing Vietnam's consistent foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralization, diversification of foreign relations for peace, friendship, cooperation and development, proactively and actively integrating comprehensively and deeply into the international community, being a friend, a reliable partner, and a responsible member of the international community in the spirit of the 13th National Congress of our Party and Directive No. 25-CT/TW of the Secretariat on promoting and elevating multilateral foreign relations.

Third , Vietnam attends IPU-150 as a country full of enthusiasm entering a new era, with many outstanding achievements in socio-economic development, in which people are always placed at the center, the goal and driving force of all development policies. With that internal strength and enthusiasm, at the IPU-150 forum, the Vietnamese National Assembly will exchange and share development experiences with parliaments of other countries, promote bilateral and multilateral cooperation in areas of mutual interest, and mobilize external support and resources for national development.

- On a bilateral level, what is the specific significance of the National Assembly Chairman's official visit to the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Uzbekistan this time, Deputy Minister?

- On the bilateral level, the official visit to the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Uzbekistan by the National Assembly Chairman is the first visit by the Head of the Vietnamese legislature to the two countries, and also the highest-level visit by a Vietnamese leader to the two countries since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992. The visit therefore has profound political significance , demonstrating Vietnam's respect for the traditional friendship with Uzbekistan and Armenia and its desire to strengthen political trust with the two countries, creating a foundation to promote cooperation in many fields, bringing relations with each country to new heights.

During the visit, the National Assembly Chairman and leaders of the two countries will discuss measures to remove difficulties and obstacles, promote economic, trade and investment cooperation - an important pillar in bilateral cooperation. It is expected that the National Assembly Chairman will have meetings with large enterprises of the two countries, creating opportunities for enterprises of the two countries to connect, introduce the market and investment potential, thereby laying the foundation for expanding cooperation in areas such as processing industry, textiles, energy, transportation, science and technology, etc.

Besides the economic - trade - investment pillars, the visit is also an opportunity for Vietnam and other countries to strengthen cooperation in the fields of culture, sports, education and training, tourism, and people-to-people exchange , areas in which Vietnam and the two countries have had a tradition of good cooperation for decades.

Through the visit, ministries, sectors, localities, agencies and friendship organizations of Vietnam and the two countries will establish direct relations, promote cooperation, enhance mutual understanding between the people of the two countries, and create a solid foundation for the younger generation to continue promoting long-term friendship and cooperation.

There is still much room and potential to strengthen cooperation and develop together.

- Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, what outstanding results have the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Armenia and Uzbekistan developed and achieved?

- Armenia and Uzbekistan are both traditional friends of
Vietnam. Despite the geographical distance, the Vietnamese people and the people of the two countries always have close and intimate feelings for each other. Over the years, the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and the two countries have increasingly developed closely, effectively and achieved many positive results.

Specifically, political trust has been continuously strengthened. Vietnam, Armenia and Uzbekistan regularly maintain visits and contacts at all levels, including high-level, most recently the visit to Vietnam by Uzbek Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov in March 2024, the meeting between Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on the sidelines of the BRICS Leaders' Meeting in Russia in October 2024, the official visit to Vietnam by Armenian Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan in November 2024, etc.

At multilateral forums, Vietnam and the two countries maintain close coordination and regularly support each other, sharing similar approaches on many international and regional issues of mutual concern.

Economic and trade cooperation between Vietnam - Armenia and Vietnam - Uzbekistan has both seen positive growth. Vietnam's bilateral trade turnover with Armenia in 2024 will reach nearly 500 million USD, an increase of more than 40% compared to 2023; with Uzbekistan it will reach 202 million USD, an increase of 26.5% compared to 2023. Vietnam has a number of investment projects in Uzbekistan; Armenia has a number of investment projects in Vietnam. Although the scale of investment is not large, not commensurate with the strengths and desires of Vietnam with the two countries, this is also a content that will be discussed by National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and the leaders of the two countries to agree on measures to explore and further promote the scope and scale of cooperation in the coming time.

At the same time, Vietnam has established an Intergovernmental Committee for Economic-Trade and Scientific-Technological Cooperation with each country to coordinate and promote import-export, investment, and cooperation in the fields of industry, agriculture, transportation, science and technology, and many other fields. Vietnam signed a Free Trade Agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union, of which Armenia is a member, in 2015. Armenia, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam are actively promoting transport connectivity to promote the exchange of goods and tourism, as well as other areas of cooperation.

Along with that, cooperation in the fields of culture, education, sports, tourism, and people-to-people exchange has been promoted by the leaders of the parties, considering this one of the important areas of cooperation, playing a role in maintaining the fine tradition of friendship between the Vietnamese people and the two countries, especially the young generation. In recent years, Vietnam has signed a Cultural Cooperation Program with Armenia, organized the Vietnamese Cultural Days in Uzbekistan and participated in the Music Festival with the theme "Oriental Melody" in Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan has also organized the Uzbekistan Cultural Days in Hanoi and Thanh Hoa.

Tourism cooperation is also increasingly strengthened, famous tourist destinations in Vietnam such as Nha Trang and Phu Quoc are increasingly popular with international tourists. Thanks to direct flights with 6 flights/week, the number of Uzbek tourists to Vietnam is increasing, reaching about 20,000 in 2024. More and more Vietnamese people also want to visit and explore the landscapes and landscapes of Armenia and Uzbekistan.

- From the reality of the cooperative relationship between Vietnam, Armenia and Uzbekistan as well as the potential and strengths of each country, what are the potential areas that Vietnam and the countries can jointly explore and further promote in the coming time, Deputy Minister?

- In addition to the results achieved, Vietnam, Armenia and Uzbekistan still have much room and potential to enhance cooperation and develop together. To promote trade, investment, tourism and people-to-people exchange, the two countries need to strengthen transport connections, including rail, road, sea and air.

Vietnam's export products to Armenia and Uzbekistan basically do not compete directly with each other, so Vietnam can export many strong products such as agricultural products, seafood, textiles, footwear, electronics, etc. to Armenia and Uzbekistan, through Armenia and Uzbekistan to other countries via the East-West and North-South transport corridors.

The two sides also have strengths to enhance cooperation in education - training, science - technology and other prospective fields such as digital technology, clean energy, new materials...

With the foundation of friendship that has been proven by history and nurtured by generations of leaders and people of Vietnam, Uzbekistan and Armenia, with the valuable experience that Vietnam has accumulated over more than 45 years of participation and active contributions to the IPU, I expect and believe that this working trip of National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man will be a great success, leaving memorable impressions in the hearts of friends from Uzbekistan, Armenia and the international community, continuing to spread and enhance the image of a loyal and affectionate Vietnam towards traditional friends, full of responsibility towards the international community; creating more important support to bring the country into a new era, realizing the set development goals.

Thank you, Deputy Minister!

Lam Giang performed

Source: https://daibieunhandan.vn/chuyen-cong-tac-co-y-nghia-tam-quan-trong-dac-biet-tren-ca-binh-dien-da-phuong-va-song-phuong-post408886.html