While there, the top lawmaker took part in more than 70 activities. The trip affirmed the foreign policy of Việt Nam’s Party and State; manifested the country’s proactiveness, activeness and responsibility; and raised its position. One of the focuses of the trip was vaccine diplomacy as well as cooperation against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bilateral contacts within the framework of the conference helped consolidate and strengthen foreign relations between Việt Nam and other countries.

NA Chairman Huệ’s activities also helped deepen friendship and accelerate co-operation between Việt Nam and other countries in the fields of politics, economy, trade, investment, science and technology.

Upon arriving at Nội Bài International Airport, Huệ witnessed the handover ceremony of aid from organisations and individuals to the Vietnamese Ministry of Health and the Việt Nam Fatherland Front.

The aid package included 200,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from Belgium and Slovakia and medical equipment (including ventilators, patient monitors, and COVID-19 test kits) worth more than VNĐ1 trillion. 

Also in the trip, a number of contracts related to test kit production, COVID-19 vaccine research and production were signed by Vietnamese enterprises and foreign partners.

Specifically, T&T Group signed a contract with a German partner to transfer the Testkit PCR production technology worth 80 million euros ($94.4 million), with a Spanish partner, a contract to co-operate in clinical trials and vaccine production for 50 million doses, worth 375 million euros ($442.9 million).

Vingroup and Xenothera SAS Company signed a co-operation agreement to conduct a phase three clinical trial in Việt Nam of Xenothera's anti-COVID treatment, called XAV-19, to supply XAV-19 products and transfer technology to produce XAV-19 products in Việt Nam.

Huệ’s working delegation handed over 200,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to the Ministry of Health, including 100,000 doses of vaccine donated by the Belgian Government and 100,000 doses of vaccine donated by the Government of Slovakia, medical equipment and supplies worth VNĐ1.028 trillion ($45 million) including over four million rapid test kits, 650 ventilators, 500 patient monitors and five PCR testing machines.

The delegation handed over to the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front VNĐ230 million ($10,000) from the Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic donated to HCM City and VNĐ135 million ($5,900) from the Vietnamese community in Austria donated for Việt Nam’s fund for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

The remaining amount of medical equipment and supplies will be shipped to Việt Nam by air as soon as possible.

The national airline Vietnam Airlines has transported the goods to the country by a special aircraft Boeing 787-9, one of the largest aircraft in Việt Nam today, meeting the urgent needs of the Vietnamese health system in protecting people’s lives and health.

Vaccines and medical supplies donation from the EU.

Viet Nam-Finland Business Roundtable

National Assembly Chairman Vương Đình Huệ speaks at theViệt Nam– Finland Business Roundtable in Helsinki held on September 11.

Viet Nam wants to learn from Finland’s experience to develop fast and sustainably, National Assembly Chairman Vương Đình Huệ told the Việt Nam – Finland Business Roundtable in Helsinki on Saturday.

He stressed that Việt Nam attached great importance to developing a green, circular and low-carbon economy, cutting greenhouse gas emissions and accelerating start-ups and innovation, while Finland has an economy based on cutting-edge technology and boasts one of the world’s most complete innovation ecosystems along with strong start-up trends. Therefore, Việt Nam wanted to explore Finland’s experience and forge cooperation between businesses in those fields.

The Southeast Asian country was pursuing robust, sustainable and harmonious development in terms of economics, social affairs, environment and adaption to climate change in the future, he added.

Noting that Việt Nam is a signatory to 17 bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements, including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Huệ called on investors from Finland and the EU to do business in Việt Nam.

The roundtable saw the presence of Finnish Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari, who said he hoped Finnish enterprises could provide help for Việt Nam in digital transformation, a critical factor for an economy to maintain sustainable growth.

He also announced that Finland has agreed to provide extra support for projects using soft foreign loans.

Also on Saturday, the NA Chairman hosted a reception for young Vietnamese business people in Finland.

The young entrepreneurs expressed their wish to bring modern technology to Việt Nam, particularly those for coping with climate change in the Mekong Delta.

Chairman Huệ appreciated their dreams, and stressed that the Vietnamese Party and State treasured the contingent of young intellectuals and businesspeople both inside and outside the country. He said they were a precious resource for national development, and affirmed that the NA, Government and ministries and sectors in Việt Nam were willing to support and create the most favourable conditions for them to operate in the country.

Europe tour by NA Chairman enjoys greater-than-expected success

The working trip to Europe from September 5 to 11 by Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Vuong Dinh Hue secured success beyond expectation, contributing to the enhancement of multilateral diplomacy and Vietnam’s relations with the countries he visited, an official said.

The top legislator of Vietnam and his entourage attended the Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament (WCSP5) in Austria, paid working visits to the European Parliament and Belgium, and made an official visit to Finland.

Highlighting the tour’s achievements, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs To Anh Dung said Chairman Hue directly took part in the WCSP5, delivered an important speech at its plenary session, and gave remarks on some specific issues. He also engaged in tens of bilateral meetings with parliamentary leaders from Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa on this occasion.

World parliamentary leaders highly valued the Vietnamese NA’s activeness, proactiveness, and high sense of responsibility in helping promote multilateral parliamentary diplomacy, Dung said.

He noted that the trip continued demonstrating the smooth coordination between parliamentary diplomacy and State diplomacy and sent the world the image of an open, proactive, and active Vietnam that is a responsible member of the international community and ready to cooperate and share experience with others to surmount COVID-19 together and boost post-pandemic development.

During the tour, Chairman Hue directly took part in several trade and investment promotion events, chaired business forums in the countries he set foot in, and met and listened to opinions of hundreds of representatives from large European and global enterprises.

He also witnessed the signing of tens of business contracts and memoranda of understanding on cooperation worth billions of USD between Vietnam and foreign partners, according to Deputy Minister Dung.

Another outstanding achievement of this trip is about vaccine diplomacy, he said, elaborating that the NA leader met Vietnamese ambassadors to Europe and assigned them to step up efforts to implement the vaccine diplomacy.

Heads of the European Parliament and the European Council voiced their support for Vietnam and pledged to encourage member states to increase assistance for the country, create conditions for Vietnam to access their spare vaccines, and help transfer vaccine production technology and provide medical equipment.

In particular, Belgium handed over 100,000 vaccine doses which were delivered to Vietnam by the flight carrying the Vietnamese delegation back home, while Slovakia also decided to present 100,000 vaccine doses to the country. Some others are also actively considering the vaccine and equipment support for Vietnam, the Deputy FM went on.

He added several foreign organisations, major Vietnamese businesses, and overseas Vietnamese donated more than 1 trillion VND (44 million USD) worth of medical supplies to the COVID-19 fight in the country./.

Source: VNS/VNA

NA Chairman witnesses signing of deals between Vietnamese and European firms

NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue witnessed the handover of donations of medical supplies to Vietnam and the signing of several agreements between Vietnamese and European businesses at a ceremony held in Helsinki on September 11.