Vice Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai paid courtesy calls to, met with and held working sessions with leaders of the Philippine Congress and Department of Finance, as well as heads of delegations from Laos, Cambodia, Russia, Japan and Canada, as part of his working trip to the Philippines to attend the 31st Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF-31) from November 23-26.

While paying courtesy calls to President of the Philippine Senate Juan Miguel Zubiri, Speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives Martin Romualdez, and holding a working session with Secretary of Finance Benjamin Diokno, Hai affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to its strategic partnership with the Philippines, and expected that both sides would continue stepping up cooperation in all areas, including politics, economy, national defence-security, culture, education, and people-to-people exchanges.

In parliamentary cooperation, he proposed the two sides enhance collaboration in new spheres, both bilaterally and multilaterally.

On the East Sea issue, Hai asserted that ensuring security and safety of navigation and overflight in the East Sea is crucial for all countries in the region.

The NA leader also suggested the Philippine Congress continue creating favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community living and working in the host country, and working closely together to properly settle issues at sea in bilateral relations.

The Philippine leaders affirmed that they treasure the Philippines-Vietnam strategic partnership and hoped that the two countries would continue sharing experience in national construction and development, and safeguarding national sovereignty over seas and islands. They also suggested the two nations continue to support each other at global and regional forums, and in maritime issues.

Meeting with Vice Chairman of the Lao National Assembly Sommad Pholsena, Hai stressed that Vietnam always pays top priority to the special traditional relationship with Laos, stands side by side with and strongly supports Laos’s national construction and development process.

Vietnam also supports and stays ready to assist Laos in successfully undertaking the role of ASEAN Chair in 2024 and Chair of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) in 2023-2024, he said.

He proposed the two legislatures continue with experience sharing and mutual support in areas of shared interest. There should be close coordination and effective monitoring of the implementation of agreements signed between the two countries, and mutual support at global and regional forums as well.

Sommad, for his part, expressed his desire to learn from Vietnam's experience in budget allocation and socio-economic development.

Meeting with First Vice President of the Cambodian National Assembly Cheam Yea, Hai suggested further facilitating all-level meetings and upholding the role of the legislative bodies in promoting the bilateral relations.

Cheam Yea told the Vietnamese leader that Cambodia always prioritises strengthening close relations with Vietnam in politics, economy, trade, investment, culture, and education, especially in border demarcation and marker planting-related issues.

He sought the Vietnamese legislature’s continued assistance in human resources development and scholarships for Cambodian officials, especially in technical and technological fields. He also wished that two countries further boost trade, tourism, and, most importantly, increase investment from Vietnam.

In their meeting, First Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council of Russia and Co-Chair of the Federation Council Cooperation Group with the Vietnamese NA Andrey Yatskin and NA Vice Chairman Nguyen Duc Hai discussed plans to push forward the bilateral ties in the coming time, including the resumption of direct flights and the use of national currencies for payment, among others.

Yatskin said as 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on the Principles of Friendly Relations between Vietnam and Russia, celebration activities should be held in both nations.

According to the Russian leader, Russia already drafted the 2024-2025 cooperation plan. He hoped that Vietnam will approve and roll out it according to the schedule.

In a meeting with member of the House of Representatives of Japan Hiraguchi Hiroshi, Hai described Japan as a leading and important economic partner of Vietnam for many consecutive years. He also thanked the Japanese Government and people for their cooperation and support over the past years.

Hiroshi hailed Vietnam as one of the priority destinations for Japanese enterprises and wished that Vietnam would create an environment conducive to businesses operations in the country.

Both sides affirmed their commitments to further developing economic ties according to the signed free trade agreement while fostering cooperation in healthcare, particularly in the recruitment of medical staff and childcare, especially considering Japan's labour shortage in these areas.

Meeting head of the Canadian delegation Senator Stan Kutcher, Hai expressed his wish to make the bilateral comprehensive partnership grow stronger based on mutual benefits.

Vietnam welcomes Canada's new Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS), which underscores the central role of ASEAN and Vietnam's position in the region as a "trade window" and a "bridge”, he said.

As this year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties, they agreed that the two legislatures should jointly facilitate the exchange of delegations at all levels, while advancing collaboration in fields of shared interest such as trade, investment, education and training, national defence and security, biotechnology, tourism, climate change, water resource management, and more./.VNA