Vietnam always places importance to developing the friendship and multi-dimensional cooperation with African countries, seeing Morocco as her prioritized partner in North Africa, Chairwoman of the Vietnamese National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan said.

Chairwoman of the Vietnamese National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (R) shakes hands with Speaker of the Moroccan House of Representatives Habib El Malki before their talks in Rabat on March 28

The Vietnamese leader made the statement at her talks with Speaker of the Moroccan House of Representatives Habib El Malki in Rabat on March 28, during her official visit to Morocco. 

The Speaker spoke highly of the new development of bilateral ties, saying the similarity in geographical position, -- Vietnam as a gateway to Southeast Asia, and Morocco as a gateway to Africa -- would provide conditions for the two countries to look into opportunities and possibilities to step up their ties.

He thanked Chairwoman Ngan for inviting Morocco to attend APPF-26, describing it as a step to realize a cooperation agreement signed by the two sides.

Ngan said her visit aims to step up and deepen the friendship and multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries in general and the two law-making bodies in particular.

The Vietnamese delegation is comprised of some Government members who will sign four cooperation agreements between ministries and localities. The documents are expected to exert positive impacts on the bilateral ties.

Ngan shared the host’s view about the sound political ties between the two countries, expressing her wish to welcome the King of Morocco to visit Vietnam in the coming time to discuss bilateral cooperation as well as enhance solidarity and mutual understanding between leaders and people.

She took the occasion to thank Morocco for its support and coordination at multilateral mechanisms, affirming Vietnam’s continuous support for Morocco at international forums.

Ngan expressed her hope that as a member of the African Union (AU), Morocco will help boost the relations between Vietnam and the AU as well as the early establishment of official relations. 

She pledged that Vietnam is willing to act as an important bridge for the relations between Morocco and other ASEAN countries.

Host and guest agreed that the two countries will increase the exchange of visits, especially high-level ones, and continue working closely at regional and international forums, especially that in the UN, Francophonie, and the Non-Aligned Movement.

The countries will continue coordinating closely in bringing into full play the efficiency of the joint committee and political consultations while enhancing locality-to-locality ties towards setting up cooperative relations and twinning ties between Ho Chi Minh City and Casablanca, Da Nang and Tangier, and Nha Trang and Agadir.

Regarding economic cooperation, Ngan said trade ties between the two countries remain modest, standing at 212.7 million USD in 2018, noting the figure did not match potential and expectations.

In order to further bilateral economic ties, Ngan suggested connecting the two countries’ business communities, especially business associations in the promising fields of trade, tourism, and finance towards establishing a Joint Business Council.

The two sides should facilitate investment promotion activities, hold international seminars, forums and fairs in each country, particularly in agriculture, mining, construction materials, chemicals, apparel, footwear and food processing, she said. 

On regional and global issues of shared concern, Ngan affirmed Vietnam’s consistent stance on the peaceful settlement of sovereignty and territorial disputes on the basis of respect to international law and the United Nations (UN) Charter, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. 

On ties between the two legislatures, she affirmed that parliamentary cooperation is one of the effective channels in Vietnam – Morocco ties, making important contributions to stepping up bilateral multifaceted partnership. 

Ngan lauded the two law-making bodies for sharing professional experience; maintaining exchange, consultation and mutual support at multilateral forums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Francophone Parliamentary Assembly (APF). 

She thanked the Moroccan House of Representatives and its Speaker for stepping up ties between the Vietnamese NA and Asia-Pacific parliamentary cooperation mechanisms via sending high-ranking delegations to conferences held in Vietnam and ASEAN member states. 

On the basis of bilateral cooperation agreement signed in 2017, she proposed that the Vietnamese legislature and the Moroccan House of Representatives should boost the sharing of experience in the making of law and parliament governance.  

The guest asked for enhancing the exchange of high-ranking delegations to raise mutual understanding and trust among parliamentarians, friendship parliamentarians’ groups and committees; working closely together to monitor the implementation of agreements signed between the two governments, ministries and agencies, as well as multilateral forums such as the IPU, the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum, the APF and other inter-parliamentary organisations.

Later, both host and guest met the press to inform them the outcomes of talks. 

In the morning the same day, NA Chairwoman Ngan and her entourage paid a floral tribute to King Mohamed V.

Morocco – Vietnam’s priority partner in North Africa: top legislator

National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (left) and Morocco’s Prime Minister Saadeddine Othmani

Vietnam always attaches importance to developing the friendship and multi-faceted cooperation with Africa, and Morocco is the country’s priority partner in North Africa, National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan has said. 

The top legislator made the affirmation at a meeting with Morocco’s Prime Minister Saadeddine Othmani in Rabat on March 28 (local time) as part of her official visit to the African country. 

Highlighting the close ties between Vietnam and Morocco during the past struggles for national liberation, Ngan said the two countries have responsibility for passing down the friendship to their young generations. 

Ngan briefed her host on Vietnam’s socio-economic development in 2018, with economic growth rate at 7.08 percent and the stable macro economy. 

Vietnam has also integrated intensively and extensively into the world, she said, adding that the country has signed and implemented 12 free trade agreements (FTAs) and is negotiating four others, both multilaterally and bilaterally. 

In November 2018, the Vietnamese legislature approved the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), she said. 

The Vietnamese legislative leader noted that although the political relations between Vietnam and Morocco are developing fruitfully, their economic-trade ties have yet to match their potential and aspirations, with two-way trade reaching only 212.7 million USD last year. 

With a population of about 90 million, Vietnam is willing to serve as a gateway for Morocco to enter the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) market, the leader stressed. 

She lauded joint efforts to accelerate the opening of air routes between the two countries and strengthen cooperation in the banking sector in order to make it easier for enterprises of the two sides to expand investment and business in the future. 

Ngan used the occasion to thank Morocco for its support and cooperation with Vietnam at multilateral cooperation mechanisms, saying to narrow the geographical distance, the two countries should cooperate more closely and effectively. 

She conveyed Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s invitation to the Moroccan PM to soon pay an official visit to Vietnam, and asked the PM to convey the invitation of Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong to King Mohammed VI to pay a State visit to her country. 

For his part, the Moroccan PM said Ngan’s visit takes place amidst the thriving bilateral political ties, and suggested the two sides strengthen their economic and cultural relations. 

Congratulating Vietnam on socio-economic achievements the country has recorded last year, he said Morocco is also opening up the economy and has signed FTAs with major economies like the US, the EU and many Arabian countries. 

The PM said as Morocco is playing an increasingly important role in Africa, the country stands ready to serve as a door for goods from Vietnam and other countries to penetrate Africa. 

He urged Vietnam and Morocco to enhance their economic links and sign more agreements to facilitate those links, saying enterprises of the two countries need to step up their connectivity to seek investment and business opportunities. 

With political stability, both countries are safe for investors, he said, noting that Morocco has attracted the largest number of foreign investors in Africa. 

In tourism, Morocco leads North Africa in terms of  foreign holiday-makers and expects to welcome about 12 million in 2019, he added. 

The leader thanked Vietnam for its support to Morocco at international forums as well as at the regional level like cooperation with ASEAN. 

The Moroccan Government has great determination to deepen and diversify relations with Vietnam, he said. 

People-to-people diplomacy important to Vietnam-Morocco relations

National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (R) and President of the Morocco-Vietnam Friendship Association Elktiki Mustapha 

National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan received President of the Morocco-Vietnam Friendship Association Elktiki Mustapha in Rabat on March 28 afternoon (local time), during which she affirmed that bilateral people-to-people exchange is an important diplomatic channel.

Ngan shared that her visit aims to boost and deepen friendship and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries in general and between the Vietnamese NA and the Moroccan House of Representatives in particular.

Elktiki Mustapha, in turn, stressed the significance of the Vietnamese top legislator’s official visit as it took place on the occasion of the 58th anniversary of diplomatic ties.

He said that his association was set up right after the official visit to Vietnam by Speaker of the Moroccan House of Representatives Habib El Malki in late 2017. It has established ties with the Vietnam War Veterans’ Association.

He expressed his hope that Vietnam soon establishes a Vietnam-Morocco Friendship Association, so that the two associations can intensify cooperation for better mutual understanding between the two peoples.

He told Ngan that his association is compiling a book highlighting similarities of Morocco and Vietnam to help Moroccan youths understand more about the two countries’ histories. He said he is delighted when hearing that the Vietnam War Veterans’ Association has a similar intention.

Mustapha affirmed that his association’s members will do their utmost to further develop the bilateral relations.

The top Vietnamese legislator affirmed she will work to speed up the establishment of the Vietnam-Morocco Friendship Association after returning home.

She also stressed that the Vietnamese State and people hope to consolidate and strengthen friendship and cooperation with the Moroccan State and people for practical interests and prosperity of the two nations, thus contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.

VNA