Senior Na Officials Meet Russian, Italian, Iraqi Parliamentarians

Officials of Vietnam's National Assembly (NA) hosted separate meetings with high-ranking representatives of the Russian and Italian parliaments in Hanoi on March 29 on the occasion of the 132nd Assembly of the Inter-parliamentary Union (IPU-132). Meeting with Chief of Staff of Russia's Federation Council Martynov Sergei Alexandrovich, Chairman of the NA Office Nguyen Hanh Phuc said Vietnam treasures its ties with the European country and continually works to bolster their multi-faceted cooperation. He highlighted developments in their bilateral relations and expressed his wish that the Vietnamese NA Office and the Staff of Russia's Federation Council would strengthen connections in information exchange, official training and consultations. He also said he hopes the Russian Federation Council and the Chief of Staff will further assist the Vietnamese community living in Russia. The Russian official spoke highly of Vietnam's preparations for the IPU-132 while agreeing the two countries need to foster affiliation, experience exchange and information sharing to contribute to their relations. The same day, Chairman of the NA Committee for Financial and Budgetary Affairs Phung Quoc Hien greeted Senator Francesco Maria Amouruso, Secretary for the Italian Senate's Foreign Affairs Committee. Both sides shared the view that the two nations need to work more closely to effectively implement dialogue mechanisms and reinforce ties in economics, defence and other areas. They also stressed the importance of facilitating Italian investment in Vietnam in advantageous fields such as manufacturing, support, and energy industries. Hien asked Italy to expeditiously approve and promote the European Commission's ratification of the Framework Agreement for the Vietnam-European Union (EU) Comprehensive Partnership and Cooperation. He also requested Italy support the EU's recognition of Vietnam's market economy. Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Uong Chu Luu met with First Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament Humam Baqir Abdul Majeed Hamoudi in Hanoi on same day, saying Vietnam wishes the Middle Eastern country will soon re-gain stability and peace. Affirming the importance Vietnam attaches to its multi-faceted cooperation with Iraq, Luu highly valued bilateral relations in all fields, ranging from politics, trade, investment, to labour. He suggested both sides increase all-level visits and people-to-people exchange to discuss cooperation measures and consolidate solidarity and mutual understanding. Particularly, they should enhance the exchange of legislative delegations to strengthen mutual understanding and trust while strengthening supervision over the implementation of agreements reached between the two countries. The NA Vice Chairman urged the two countries to extend economic activities and further bridge their business circles. He also asked the two countries closely cooperate and support each other at regional and international forums, especially within the United Nations framework. He said he hopes that Iraq will support Vietnam's candidacy as a member of the UN Economic-Social Council for the 2016-2018 term and the UNESCO Executive Council for the 2015-2019 term. For his part, the Iraqi official highlighted bilateral cooperation in various spheres such as agriculture, oil and gas exploitation, and human resource development. He voiced his hope that the two sides will deepen collaboration in areas they has strength in, especially in economics.