National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (R) and Indian Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, who is also Chairman of the Rajya Sabha - the upper house of the Parliament of India

Ngan welcomed Naidu’s official visit to Vietnam and attendance at the United Nations Day of Vesak 2019, believing that the trip would help reinforce and strengthen political trust and solidarity between the States and people of Vietnam and India.

The top legislator expressed her satisfaction at the growing relations between Vietnam and India over the past time, especially after the two countries’ leaders agreed to elevate bilateral ties to the level of comprehensive strategic partnership in 2016.

Agreeing with Ngan’s opinions, Naidu said Vietnam and India have always supported each other at international forums and he pledged to continue close coordination and mutual assistance at multilateral forums, especially within the framework of the United Nations (UN).

He promised to back each other’s efforts to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council with Vietnam running for the 2020-2021 tenure and India for the 2021-2022 tenure.

Since 2016, the Vietnamese and Indian parliaments have in turn established friendship parliamentary groups in the respective countries, he added.
Ngan said the relations between Vietnamese and Indian legislative bodies have been strengthened over the past years, making significant contributions to the enhancement of ties between two nations.

She noted with pleasure that many leaders of foreign countries, including India, have been interested in and agreed to send high-ranking delegations to the Vesak Day 2019 in Vietnam, illustrating their support for the host country.

The NA Chairwoman asked Naidu to promote the exchange of high-level visits between the two countries’ leaders through the Party, State, National Assembly and Government channels.

She suggested boosting people-to-people exchanges and cooperation between ministries, sectors, localities and businesses while expanding joint investment projects and upholding the role of friendship associations and friendship parliamentary groups in each country.

The two sides should increase consultations and sharing of information in addition to providing mutual support at multilateral forums and jointly making active contributions to the cooperation mechanisms of the ASEAN-India, the East Asia Summit, the ASEAN Regional Forum, the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), and the South-South Cooperation, along with the UN, regional and sub-regional cooperation mechanisms.

At the meeting, the two leaders exchanged views on some issues of mutual concern such as the settlement of disputes in the East Sea through peaceful measures and in the spirit of respecting international law, especially the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982.-VNA