National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue said during his online talks with Speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly László Kövér on July 12.

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue at the online talks with Speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly László Kövér

The top Vietnamese legislator highly appreciated the positive developments in bilateral relations over the past time, which were reflected in a series of meetings between the two countries' senior leaders.

Notably on the occasion of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's visit to Hungary in 2018, the two sides agreed to upgrade their relations to a comprehensive partnership, demonstrating leaders' determination to deepen bilateral cooperation moving forward.

As a close friend of Hungary, Vietnam always closely follows and congratulate Hungary on its achievements in socio-economic development over the years, contributing to promoting the role and prestige of Hungary in the region and the wider world, Hue said.

Vietnam hails Hungary's success in containing the COVID-19 pandemic, thus allowing it to open its doors for tourism and economic development, the Vietnamese NA leader added.

NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue thanked Hungary for supporting the signing and ratification of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and being the first member state in the EU to ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), giving a positive signal to push the remaining countries to ratify this agreement.

He glowingly spoke the fact that Hungary has regarded Vietnam as a priority partner in its official development assistance (ODA) policy, with preferential loans worth 440 million EUR committed to projects in priority fields for bilateral cooperation.   

Hue praised both nations for offering mutual support at multilateral forums, and thanked the Hungarian Government for backing Vietnam to be elected to the United Nations Security Council for the 2020-2021 term as well as to the United Nations Human Rights Council for the 2023-2025 term.

Vietnam is willing to serve as a bridge for Hungary to expand its cooperative relations with ASEAN member states and vice versa. The nation wants Hungary to continue to support and promote stronger relations between Vietnam and EU members as well as member countries in the region, Hue went on to say.
He also welcomed the establishment of the Hungarian culture and community centre in Vietnam.

Speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly László Kövér

In response, Kövér expressed his hope that Vietnamese and Hungarian competent agencies will further discuss mechanisms to augment bilateral cooperation in a wide range of areas, including information-technology and telecoms, during a meeting of the joint committee of the two governments slated for October.
Vietnamese firms should see Hungary as a bridge to intensify their investment in Europe, he suggested.

Both sides rejoiced over new development steps in bilateral economic ties, saying that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, last year’s two-way trade still reached roughly US$ 1.3 billion last year, up 40% from the previous year.

However, they said, the bilateral trade has remained unstable and far below their full potential.
Regarding legislative ties, they consented to maintain the exchange of all-level delegations, and continue their mutual support and sharing of experience in law building, supervision over the operations of the State apparatus, and personnel training.

The two sides concurred to organise more symposiums and increase exchanges between friendship parliamentarians’ groups, and female and young legislators, to raise mutual understanding and strengthen the ties between the two legislatures, while stepping up cooperation and mutual support at multilateral forums.

They also underscored the important role of the Vietnamese community in Hungary to people-to-people diplomacy, and stressed the need to share information and experience in the fields of their strengths in the process of national construction and development. 

Source: VOV

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