VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam highly regarded its traditional friendship and co-operation with South Africa, Nguyen Sinh Hung, Chairman of the Viet Nam National Assembly told the Speaker of the South African National Assembly Max Vuyisile Sisulu in the capital city yesterday, Nov 17.

National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung receives his South African counterpart Max Vuyisile Sisulu. (Photo: VNS)
In their talks, which followed the official welcoming ceremony for the South African guest, Hung described the visit by Sisulu as a landmark in bilateral co-operation, in the region and internationally.

He asked South Africa to act as bridge in helping Viet Nam expand its relationships with other African countries.

Hung promised to help South Africa in its quest to promote its relations with other ASEAN nations.

He asked the Vietnamese and South African parliaments to jointly develop a co-ordination mechanism and sign a co-operation agreement.

"These are solid foundations for the two National Assemblies to further promote their bilateral co-operation at international forums while carrying out their function as a supervising agency toward the implementation of their governments' projects," said Hung.

The South African Speaker said it was a great honour for him to visit Viet Nam.

"The two countries have many similarities, particularly the long war for national independence. And the aged old traditional friendship and solidarity between the two nations has been fostered by various generations of South African leaders and people," said Sisulu.

He pledged to do what he could to support Vietnamese investors in South Africa. He hoped the two countries would further promote their co-operation in the fields of national security, defence and diplomacy.

During their talks, the two parties informed each other about political, diplomatic and socio-economic activities in their respective countries. They agreed to further promote the solidarity, co-operation and mutual understanding between the two nations and particularly between the two legislative bodies in bilateral and international forums.

On this occasion, Sisulu invited a delegation from the Viet Nam National Assembly to attend the 100th founding anniversary of the South African majority party ANC and 17th Conference of Partners (COP) on climate change which is scheduled to take place in Durban, in 2012.

President Truong Tan Sang also met with Sisulu in Ha Noi yesterday, where he spoke highly about the role and position of South Africa in the continent, in the Non-allied Movement and the United Nations.

He also thanked South African support for Viet Nam in multilateral forums and expected the country would also aid Viet Nam's candidacy to the United Nations Human Rights Council 2014-16, the UN Economic and Social Council 2016-18 and non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council 2020-21.

Sang also suggested that a joint Government dialogue forum should be held soon to review the implementation of commitments and agreements, and put forward orientation for future co-operation.

Sisulu briefed Sang on the delegation's work with the NA, in which the two sides pledged to support each other in international forums and work together to cope with global issues, such as climate change.

The same day, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc received the Speaker of the South African National Assembly.

He welcomed African investors to come and invest in Viet Nam.

He also hoped the multi-faceted co-operation, particularly in the field of economics, would further be promoted for the interests of the people of the two nations.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News