Vietnamese, Russian top legislators hold talks

Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan held talks with Chairwoman of the Russian Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko in Moscow on December 10.

Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and Chairwoman of the Russian Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko. (Photo: VNA)
Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and Chairwoman of the Russian Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko. (Photo: VNA)

NA Chairman Ngan said that Vietnam always treasures the relations with Russia which is of primary importance to its foreign policy. Vietnam wants to foster a deeper, more effective and comprehensive cooperation with Russia to bring benefits to both sides, she said.

Vietnam and Russia share common views in many regional and global issues, she continued, and have been maintaining great coordination and support for each other at multilateral forums, particularly the United Nations. She thanked Russia for backing Vietnam’s candidacy for a non-permanent seat of the UN Security Council from 2020-2021.

NA Chairwoman Ngan also spoke highly of the two nations’ partnership in energy, of which oil and gas is the main pillar, while saying she is pleased to see cooperation in defence, security and military technology, education and training, science and technology, culture, and tourism between the two sides flourishing.

NA Chairwoman Ngan later took the occasion to thank Russia for supporting the Vietnamese community in Russia and asked her host to facilitate issuing visas for Vietnamese citizens and fishermen to Russia while the two countries are negotiating a travel agreement.

The Vietnamese top legislator lauded the mutual support and close coordination between legislative bodies of the two countries on the international arena, as well as their active participation in multilateral forums they hosted.

As Chair of the 41st General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA 41), the Vietnamese NA will work to promote the ASEAN-Russia strategic partnership, she said.

She took the occasion to invite Matviyenko and other deputies of the Russian Federation Council to visit Vietnam and attend AIPA 41 slated for late August and early September 2020 in Ha Long city, the northern province of Quang Ninh.

Regarding the East Sea issue, she stressed Vietnam highly appreciates Russia’s stance on supporting the settlement of disputes by peaceful measures on the basis of international law.

For her part, Matviyenko highlighted the role of Vietnamese and Russian friendship parliamentarians’ groups, and called on the groups to sign more biennial cooperation agreements and join hands in supervising the realisation of inked deals.

Vietnam’s non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council in 2020 will create an opportunity for both sides to coordinate in the international arena, the host leader said.

She invited NA Chairwoman Ngan to attend the third Eurasian Women’s Forum scheduled for 2021 in Russia.

Immediately after their talks, the two leaders met with the press to inform about the talks’ results. They said that the two sides discussed issues related to the cooperation between the two countries and legislative bodies, stressing that bilateral ties have contributed to promote the Vietnam - Russia comprehensive strategic partnership.