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| National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue receives Tongan Parliament Speaker Lord Fakafanua. (Source: VNA) |
On the afternoon of September 15, at the National Convention Center (My Dinh, Hanoi), National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue received Chairman of the National Assembly of the Kingdom of Tonga Lord Fakafanua.
The National Assembly Chairman warmly welcomed and thanked the Speaker of the National Assembly, Lord Fakafanua, for attending the 9th Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians; he said that this was a gesture of strong support, and the presence of the Speaker of the National Assembly, Lord Fakafanua, was a factor contributing to the success of this Conference.
Stating that Vietnam wishes to strengthen relations with the South Pacific island nations, the National Assembly Chairman affirmed that Vietnam always supports Tonga as well as other South Pacific island nations to connect more closely with ASEAN.
Thanking the Kingdom of Tonga for supporting Vietnam as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the National Assembly Chairman announced that the Vietnamese leaders have agreed to the policy of establishing diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the Kingdom of Tonga.
The two countries' National Assemblies are both members of the IPU. The National Assembly Chairman expressed his belief that the establishment of diplomatic relations will be an extremely important first step for the two countries to carry out cooperation activities on both bilateral and multilateral levels.
Speaker of Parliament Lord Fakafanua expressed his honour and pleasure to be in Vietnam to attend the 9th Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians.
Speaking about his first visit to Vietnam, a beautiful country, Speaker of Parliament Lord Fakafanua said the visit took place at the right time, and announced that the King of Tonga had approved the policy of establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The Speaker of the Tongan Parliament expressed his belief that the establishment of diplomatic relations will demonstrate that Tonga and the South Pacific island nations wish to further strengthen cooperative relations with Vietnam.
The President of the Tongan National Assembly agreed with the President of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue that both countries are members of the IPU - this is the starting point to strengthen the relationship between the two parliaments, especially when Vietnamese culture has many similarities with the South Pacific island nations.
The Speaker of the Tongan Parliament shared that 10 years ago he was a young parliamentarian and is now also the Speaker of the Young Parliament; expressing his hope that through this Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians, he will be able to gather good experiences and valuable lessons.
Tonga is an island nation, also facing challenges in the process of building and developing the country. By attending this Conference and wishing to share experiences with Vietnam, especially the Vietnamese National Assembly, which has a high proportion of young National Assembly deputies, he expressed his hope that this meeting will be a good start for cooperation between the two Legislative Bodies.
At the meeting, the two leaders expressed their joy at the upcoming establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries; they said that this met the aspirations of the people of both countries. The two countries shared the view that they were ready to be friends with all countries in the world, for peace, cooperation and development.
The President of the Tongan National Assembly also agreed with the President of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue that, on the basis of the bilateral relationship, parliamentary cooperation will be strengthened, especially the exchange of delegations. The two countries have conditions for deep cooperation in areas such as agriculture, agricultural products, consumer goods, agricultural machinery, rice production, and fisheries.
The Speaker of the Tongan Parliament shared that South Pacific island nations, including Tonga, consider climate change a real threat and expressed the desire for international cooperation to mitigate this challenge.
Appreciating the opening speech of the Conference when the National Assembly Chairman quoted President Ho Chi Minh's saying that "Youth is the spring of society", the Speaker of the Tongan National Assembly emphasized that in the process of national development, the youth force is the solution for the future. Expressing his desire to contribute to the Conference, the Speaker of the Tongan National Assembly affirmed his support for the adoption of this important Conference Declaration.
On this occasion, Speaker of the Tongan Parliament Lord Fakafanua conveyed the greetings of the King of Tonga to Speaker of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue and looked forward to welcoming the Speaker of the National Assembly to pay an official visit to the Kingdom of Tonga soon.
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