Ambassador Pham Thi Thu Huong: Promoting parliamentary cooperation, bringing Vietnam-Greece relations into substantive development

The official visit to Greece by Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai is of great significance in consolidating political trust and promoting bilateral relations, including parliamentary cooperation.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Greece Pham Thi Thu Huong. (Source: Vietnamese Embassy in Greece)

On the occasion of Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai's upcoming official visit to Greece, Ambassador Pham Thi Thu Huong gave an interview to The Gioi va Viet Nam Newspaper , highlighting the significance of the visit as well as the role of parliamentary cooperation in the overall traditional friendship between Vietnam and Greece.

How does the Ambassador assess the significance of the official visit to Greece by Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai for bilateral relations?

The official visit to Greece by National Assembly Vice Chairman Nguyen Duc Hai from September 30 to October 3 at the invitation of First Vice Chairman of the Greek Parliament Ioannis Plakiotakis is of great significance in strengthening political trust and affirming the desire of both sides to promote bilateral relations, including parliamentary cooperation.

Taking place on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the visit aims to implement agreements between the two countries' senior leaders, most recently the meeting between Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on the sidelines of the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference last June.

During the visit, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai is expected to hold talks with First Vice Chairman of the Greek Parliament Ioannis Plakiotakis; meet with Vice President of Greece Kostis Hatzidakis; work with the Greece-Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Group of the Greek Parliament chaired by Ms. Makrh Zoh Zetta; meet with General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece; and meet with representatives of the Vietnamese community in Greece, including the family of Hero of the People's Armed Forces Nguyen Van Lap Kostas Sarantidis.

Speaking at the recent 50th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Greece, First Vice President of the Greek Parliament Ioannis Plakiotakis emphasized that Mr. Kostas Sarantidis Nguyen Van Lap and his family are a testament to the relationship between the two countries, the love and admiration that the Greek people have for Vietnam. He also expressed his belief that the upcoming official visit to Greece by Vice President of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai will contribute to further tightening inter-parliamentary relations, thereby contributing to promoting the relationship between the two countries.

During the visit, the Embassy will coordinate with its Greek partner, New Star Art, to launch the Greek translation of volume 1 of the book “Selected writings of President Ho Chi Minh from 1920 to 1969” translated from English to Greek by The Gioi Publishing House, providing the copyright for the English translation, to serve foreign information work.

The First Vice President of the Greek Parliament came to congratulate the 80th anniversary of Vietnam's National Day in Athens, September 22.

What are the outstanding strengths of the Vietnam-Greece relationship over the past 50 years, Ambassador?

After 50 years of establishment, the two countries have maintained a good traditional friendship, especially the warm feelings that the people of the two countries have for each other. Wherever I go, I receive the good feelings of the Greek people for Vietnam.

Along with that, similarities in love of peace based on upholding the principles of the United Nations Charter, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and pride in historical and cultural traditions are important foundations for the connection between the two countries.

We have always received support from Greece from the resistance war against the US to the response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the country's socio-economic development. Greece is one of the first European Union (EU) countries to ratify the Vietnam-EU Comprehensive Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA), early approved the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), ratified the Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), supported Vietnam's candidacy for membership of the United Nations Human Rights Council for the 2023-2025 term and recently supported the "Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son - Kiep Bac Monuments and Landscape Complex" to be recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage.

Along with maintaining the exchange of high-level delegations at all levels, the two countries have maintained bilateral cooperation in many fields and have signed a number of cooperation documents to promote bilateral relations. Economic and trade relations between the two countries remain modest, with nearly 350 million USD in the first 7 months of 2025, an increase of more than 12% over the same period last year and has increased steadily in recent years.

There is still a lot of room for cooperation between the two countries, especially in areas where both countries have strengths such as maritime transport, industrial products, agriculture, high technology, innovation, labor, culture, tourism, education, publications, etc.

Not only in the domestic market, Greece affirmed its readiness to act as a bridge for Vietnam to strengthen relations with the EU, the Balkans and the Mediterranean. On the Vietnamese side, we have also committed to being a bridge connecting Greece with the ASEAN region.

Ambassador Pham Thi Thu Huong and Greek delegates and friends at the book launch of Ho Chi Minh's Biography in Greek.

According to the Ambassador, what should the Vietnamese and Greek National Assemblies do to develop the relationship between the two countries more substantially in the coming time?

The visit to Greece by Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai is the second visit by a Vice Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam to Greece in over 10 years (Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Uong Chu Luu visited Greece in July 2013). The visit shows that parliamentary cooperation plays an important role in deepening the relationship between the two countries, making it more effective and practical.

Right before the visit, the Standing Committee of the 15th National Assembly passed a Resolution to establish the Vietnam-Greece Friendship Parliamentary Group, aiming to update and strengthen the group's activities. This shows our importance in strengthening cooperation between the two countries' parliaments through the Friendship Parliamentary Groups.

This visit also had the participation of Chairman of the Vietnam-Greece Friendship Parliamentary Group Pham Dinh Toan. This is the first step to establish a cooperative relationship between the Friendship Parliamentary Groups of the two countries, which is the basis for the two sides to maintain regular exchanges through specialized agencies, promote the sharing of legislative and supervisory experiences as well as the application of digitalization in the activities of the National Assembly and other activities of practical significance, at the request of both sides, creating a foundation for long-term cooperation.

In addition, the two sides also need to continue to maintain and strengthen coordination at multilateral parliamentary forums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership (ASEP), contributing to strengthening regional peace and security and responding to non-traditional security challenges such as climate change and cyber security.

These efforts not only strengthen the connection between the two legislative bodies but also develop the bilateral relationship substantially, bringing practical benefits to the people of the two countries and contributing to creating a solid foundation for long-term cooperation in the Vietnam-Greece relationship.

Thank you very much, Ambassador!

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/dai-su-pham-thi-thu-huong-thuc-day-hop-tac-nghi-vien-dua-quan-he-viet-nam-hy-lap-di-vao-phat-trien-thuc-chat-328972.html