Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai meets with senior leaders of Sri Lanka

(Dan Tri) - During meetings and talks with senior leaders of Sri Lanka, the Vice President of the National Assembly suggested that the two countries promote bilateral cooperation in many fields.

On March 20 (local time), within the framework of an official visit to Sri Lanka, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai met with Ms. Harini Amarasuriya, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka.

The Vice President of the National Assembly affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to the traditional friendship with Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya also shared the good feelings that Sri Lanka always has for Vietnam and President Ho Chi Minh.

She expressed her impression of Vietnam's remarkable economic and social development in recent times.

Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai met with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriyaa (Photo: National Assembly).

Prime Minister Harini appreciated the opinions of Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai, especially the need to continue promoting delegation exchanges at all levels and resume the implementation of bilateral cooperation mechanisms in 2025.

The two sides agreed to strengthen economic, trade and investment cooperation, and strive to soon bring two-way trade turnover to the target of 1 billion USD.

Vietnam and Sri Lanka also agreed to consider early negotiations to sign a free trade agreement and open direct flights to facilitate exchanges, trade, tourism, and promote the potential and strengths of each country.

The Sri Lankan Prime Minister affirmed that he will create favorable conditions for Vietnamese businesses to invest long-term in Sri Lanka, especially in areas where the country has demand and Vietnam has strengths such as agriculture, infrastructure, services, tourism, and retail.

The two sides also agreed to strengthen and deepen cooperation in other potential areas such as tourism, education and training, cultural and religious exchanges, and people-to-people exchanges.

Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya reiterated Sri Lanka's request to soon become a Sectoral Dialogue Partner of ASEAN and hoped that Vietnam would support and assist Sri Lanka in this process on the basis of the good friendship between the two countries.

The Speaker of the Sri Lankan National Assembly hopes that Vietnam will share its experience in international economic integration and attracting foreign investment (Photo: National Assembly).

Meeting with Sri Lankan Parliament Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne, Vice President of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai shared Vietnam's experiences in agricultural development, building the OCOP model (One Village One Product), and suggested that Sri Lanka send a delegation to Vietnam for more specific discussions in this field.

The Speaker of the Sri Lankan Parliament said that Vietnam and Sri Lanka have many similarities in the development process, in which Vietnam has taken the lead in a number of sectors, especially agriculture, thanks to the application of technology, contributing to production development and increasing exports.

On that basis, the President of the Sri Lankan Parliament hopes that Vietnam will share its experience in international economic integration, attracting foreign investment, and building and developing the agricultural sector.

During the discussion, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai emphasized that in the context that Vietnam and Sri Lanka are both striving to fulfill their socio-economic development targets, as legislative bodies, the two countries' National Assemblies need to strengthen cooperation and share experiences, especially in building institutions and perfecting the legal system for the development of the digital economy and digital society.

On the same day, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai held talks with Vice Chairman of the Sri Lankan Parliament Rizvie Salih.

The Vice President of the Sri Lankan Parliament emphasized that Sri Lanka values ​​the long-standing traditional friendship with Vietnam and highly appreciates Vietnam's achievements in economic development.

Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai held talks with Vice Chairman of the Sri Lankan Parliament Rizvie Salih (Photo: National Assembly).

He affirmed that Sri Lanka considers Vietnam a model to learn from in terms of development and international integration, expanding cooperation and attracting foreign investment as well as developing manufacturing industries.

The two Vice Chairmen of the National Assembly agreed that this is a favorable time to add new momentum to bring bilateral relations to new heights.

The two sides agreed to increase delegation exchanges and contacts at high and all levels, promote business connections and people-to-people exchanges, and promote the effectiveness of bilateral cooperation mechanisms.

Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai suggested that the two sides study the possibility of signing a bilateral free trade agreement; establish information channels and business dialogues; expand trade and investment promotion activities...

The Vice Chairman of the National Assembly also emphasized the importance of opening direct flights to promote economic, trade and commercial activities between the two countries.

The two sides also agreed to continue expanding cooperation in education, culture, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges in various forms, and to encourage the Friendship Organizations of the two countries to organize meetings, exchanges, and delegation exchanges on culture, art, and Buddhism.

Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai appreciated the Sri Lankan Parliament for establishing the Sri Lanka - Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Group.

He suggested that the two National Assemblies consider signing a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation, promote delegation exchanges, high-level contacts and meetings between committees and friendship parliamentarians' groups, share experiences in institution building, and improve the legal system to create favorable conditions for economic growth and development in each country.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/xa-hoi/pho-chu-tich-quoc-hoi-nguyen-duc-hai-gap-cac-lanh-dao-cap-cao-cua-sri-lanka-20250321114150961.htm