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| National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives Puan Maharani. (Source: VNA) |
Vietnam's role and position have been enhanced in regional and international parliamentary cooperation mechanisms; the Vietnam-Indonesia strategic partnership and the Vietnam-Iran friendship continue to be expanded and promoted through the working trip of National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue.
"What friends, what brothers"
The visit attracted special attention from the media in the archipelago. In an editorial on August 5, Antara news agency affirmed that the visit is of great significance, demonstrating Vietnam’s foreign policy of attaching importance to bilateral relations with Indonesia, and wishing to contribute to building a peaceful, stable and prosperous environment in the region.
In a commentary published in Asia Review, Kompasiana and Republik Merdeka, Mr. Veeramalla Anjaiah, senior researcher at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS) commented that the visit of National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue clearly demonstrated the interest of the Vietnamese leadership in the relationship with Indonesia; demonstrated the spirit of solidarity, trust between the leaders of the two countries, and the willingness to move towards deeper cooperation for the benefit of the people as well as for peace and stability in Southeast Asia. Moreover, the visit will also strengthen cooperation between the legislative bodies of Vietnam and Indonesia.
During the three days, the National Assembly Chairman had a very dense and effective working program (21 activities) with Indonesian politicians, scholars, businesses and the press. Indonesia gave the head of the Vietnamese National Assembly a thoughtful and respectful welcome; arranged a working program with high-ranking Indonesian leaders, including President Joko Widodo, Chairman of the People's Representative Council (Lower House) Puan Maharani, Chairman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Megawati Suekarnoputri...
Notable during the visit was the attendance and speech entitled “Vietnam-Indonesia Strategic Partnership: Closely Connected, Together Striving for a Dynamic, Inclusive, Peaceful, Cooperative and Developed Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean” by National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue before more than 200 delegates at the Foreign Policy Forum.
The National Assembly Chairman said that the cultural similarities, founding ideology, geographical proximity and close historical ties as well as the common aspirations for peace are the natural glue that binds the two peoples of Vietnam and Indonesia, carrying values that transcend space and time. That meaningful and warm bond has been continuously nurtured by generations of leaders and people of the two countries, just as President Ho Chi Minh said to President Sukarno when he visited Vietnam in 1959: "What friends, what brothers".
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| National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue speaks at the first plenary session of the 44th AIPA General Assembly on August 7 in Jakarta, Indonesia. (Source: VNA) |
ASEAN stands firm against “headwinds”
Delivering an important speech at the 44th AIPA General Assembly Plenary Session with the theme “Proactively Adapting Parliaments for a Stable and Prosperous ASEAN”, recalling the Indonesian proverb “A strong tree is not afraid of storms”, the National Assembly Chairman affirmed that despite facing many “headwinds”, ASEAN has always stood firm and has never had a better position than today. The more “storms” it has gone through, the brighter it becomes in the spirit of ASEAN’s self-reliance, solidarity, proactive adaptation, solidarity, unity and readiness to cooperate and dialogue in the spirit of the rule of law.
The National Assembly Chairman stated that ASEAN has made efforts to demonstrate its central role as one of the main actors in creating, shaping and leading the security environment, the cooperation structure and regional order. In that process, the National Assembly Chairman emphasized that AIPA and its member parliaments have played a very important role because they represent the voices of states, political parties and people in member countries. AIPA's contributions are clearly demonstrated in its development process and its increasingly high international prestige. It can be said that AIPA's image is always reflected in ASEAN's successes.
On this occasion, the National Assembly Chairman affirmed that Vietnam will do its utmost together with ASEAN countries and AIPA member parliaments to build a strong ASEAN-AIPA, proactively adapt, "turn danger into opportunity", towards a stable, prosperous and sustainable ASEAN Community, and at the same time put forward five important proposals to the 44th AIPA General Assembly.
| Attending the 44th AIPA General Assembly, the Vietnamese delegation proposed three draft resolutions on “Digital transformation led by and for women”, “Promoting innovation, transfer, application and development of science and technology for sustainable growth and development” and “Promoting the application of ASEAN guidelines on responsible investment in the food, agriculture and forestry sectors”. |
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| Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue. (Source: VNA) |
Breakthrough in relations with Iran
Taking place on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-Iran relations, the visit of National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue received special attention from the Iranian press and media. All activities and developments related to the visit on the first day (August 8) were fully and vividly reported by Iranian news agencies and television stations.
The news agencies IRNA, TASNIM, FARS... and a number of TV channels reported and reflected in detail the important schedule of the delegation, from the time they arrived at Mehrabad airport in the capital Tehran and were welcomed by Vice President of the Iranian Parliament Mujtaba Zolnouri; the reception at the Iranian Parliament chaired by President of the Parliament Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf; the talks and the content of the talks between the two National Assembly Chairmen; the joint press conference between the two National Assembly Chairmen after the talks; the signing ceremony of the memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the two National Assemblies...
During talks with Chairman of the host country's National Assembly Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on August 8, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue emphasized that Vietnam always attaches importance to the friendly relations and multifaceted cooperation with Iran, one of Vietnam's important partners in the Middle East.
The two leaders discussed and agreed on specific measures to improve the effectiveness of bilateral cooperation in the coming time in such areas as continuing to increase the exchange of delegations at all levels, especially high-level delegations and leaders of ministries, branches in charge of the economy, localities of the two countries, etc.; promoting people-to-people, cultural and artistic exchange activities, etc.; enhancing cooperation between committees and agencies of the National Assembly, the Friendship Parliamentarians' Association of the two sides, the group of female parliamentarians, the group of young parliamentarians; promoting the role of monitoring and promoting the implementation of agreements and commitments between the two countries; continuing to coordinate and support each other at international forums, and preparing well for the 10th Meeting of the Vietnam-Iran Intergovernmental Committee in Hanoi.
In terms of economy, the two sides agreed to increase meetings and connections between localities and businesses of the two countries to seek opportunities for business and investment cooperation; and create conditions for each country's strong products to penetrate the other's market.
| During his visit to Iran, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue met with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi; held talks with Iranian Parliament Chairman Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf; attended and spoke at the Vietnam-Iran Forum on policies and laws to promote economic, trade and investment cooperation; and delivered a policy speech at the Institute for Political and International Studies, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran... |
National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue suggested that Iran increase imports of agricultural products such as rice, tea, pepper, coffee, rubber, etc. from Vietnam, and expressed his willingness to facilitate Iran's export of dried fruits, fruits, etc. to Vietnam. The two sides agreed to cooperate in the production of products according to Halal standards. The two leaders also reached consensus on strengthening customs cooperation, resuming cooperation mechanisms between the two countries such as the Joint Working Group on Banking Cooperation, the Vietnam-Iran Trade Working Group, etc. to seek breakthrough measures for economic and trade cooperation.
It can be said that the working trip of National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue this time has contributed to enhancing the role and position of Vietnam and our National Assembly in regional and international parliamentary cooperation mechanisms; contributing to consolidating and expanding the foundation of political relations, promoting effective and substantive cooperation in all fields, on all channels between Vietnam and traditional partner and friend countries.
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