At the meeting with IPU President Gabriela Cuevas Barron, Phong congratulated the IPU on the union’s 130th anniversary, which shows the strong vitality of multilateralism and the development of parliamentary diplomacy, contributing to maintaining peace, stability and promoting dialogue and cooperation for the future of humankind.
The Vietnamese official asked the IPU President to continue supporting Vietnam in fulfilling its commitments. On the occasion, she invited the IPU leader to visit Vietnam and attend an international conference on nutrition and health care with a focus on ethnic groups in 2020.
For her part, IPU President Barron spoke highly of the role Vietnam plays as an active and responsible IPU member, especially in implementing commitments and action programmes set out by the union.
She also expressed her hope that with Vietnam’s experience and performances as part of the dynamic development of the region, Asian countries and Vietnam will succeed in completing all of their targets.
At the meeting with Vice President of the Cuban National Assembly Ana Maria Mari Machado, Phong expressed her delight at the growth of the special traditional friendship between Vietnam and Cuba.
Leaders of both sides have agreed to strengthen cooperation and sharing experience, which is also the orientations for collaboration between the two NAs, she said, showing her pleasure at the progress in the legislative bodies’ partnership, especially in sharing experience and setting up friendship parliamentarian groups.
Phong proposed that the two sides increase delegation exchanges to share experience in legislative and supervision activities as well as the strengthening of the NA’s role in the political system, parliamentary diplomacy and cooperation at multilateral international parliamentary forums.
She thanked Cuba for supporting Vietnam to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in the 2020-2021 tenure. Recognising difficulties and challenges facing Cuba currently, she affirmed that Vietnam supports Cuba’s just stance in fighting for embargo lifting.
For her part, Ana Maria Mari Machado said that Cuba hopes to learn from the Vietnamese NA’s experience in law building and supervision.
She proposed that the two sides work closely to hold a conference between Vietnamese and Cuban NA leaders in 2020.
