Promoting parliamentary cooperation, bringing Vietnam-Greece relations into substantive development

On the occasion of Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai leading the Vietnamese National Assembly delegation to officially visit Greece from September 30 to October 3 at the invitation of First Vice Chairman of the Greek National Assembly Ioannis Plakiotakis, Vietnamese Ambassador to Greece Pham Thi Thu Huong shared about the significance of the visit as well as the role of parliamentary cooperation in the overall traditional friendship between Vietnam and Greece.

According to Ambassador Pham Thi Thu Huong, the visit is important in strengthening political trust and the two sides' desire 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.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Greece solemnly organized a ceremony to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-Greece diplomatic relations and the 80th anniversary of Vietnam's National Day on September 2. (Photo: VNA)

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, representatives of the Vietnamese community in Greece, including the family of Hero of the People's Armed Forces Nguyen Van Lap Kostas Sarantidis.

Previously, 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 proof of the fate of the two countries, and the love and admiration that the Greek people have for Vietnam.

He expressed his belief that the upcoming visit to Greece by National Assembly Vice Chairman Nguyen Duc Hai will contribute to further tightening parliamentary relations, thereby promoting relations between the two countries.

On the occasion of the visit of Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai, the Embassy will coordinate with New Star Art to launch the Greek translation of volume 1 of the book “Selected Writings of President Ho Chi Minh from 1920-1969,” translated from English into Greek and copyrighted by The Gioi Publishing House for the English translation to serve foreign information work.

Regarding the outstanding strengths of the Vietnam-Greece relationship over the past 50 years, the Ambassador said that it is the traditional friendship, especially the warm feelings that the people of the two countries have for each other, especially the good feelings that the Greek people have for Vietnam, which the Ambassador directly feels.

Along with that, the common points of love for 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.

According to Ambassador Pham Thi Thu Huong, Vietnam has always received support from Greece from the anti-American resistance war to responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and the country's socio-economic development.

Greece is one of the first countries in the European Union (EU) to ratify the Vietnam-EU Comprehensive Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA), early approved the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and has ratified the Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).

Greece also supports Vietnam's candidacy for membership of the Human Rights Council for the 2023-2025 term and recently supported Vietnam's "Yen Tu-Vinh Nghiem-Con Son-Kiep Bac Monuments and Landscape Complex" to be recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage.

The Ambassador emphasized that, along with maintaining the exchange of high-level delegations and all levels, the two countries maintain bilateral cooperation in many fields, signing a number of cooperation documents to promote bilateral relations. Although the economic and trade relations between the two countries are still modest, with nearly 350 million USD in the first 7 months of this year, it has increased by more than 12% over the same period last year and continues to increase gradually in recent years.

There is still much room for development in the potential for cooperation between the two countries, especially in areas where both sides 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 promote relations with the EU, the Balkan region and the Mediterranean. In return, Vietnam also pledged to be ready to act as a bridge between Greece and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Regarding parliamentary cooperation, the upcoming visit to Greece by Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai shows that cooperation through the National Assembly channel plays an important role in deepening the relationship between the two countries, making it more effective and substantive. Before the visit, the Standing Committee of the 15th National Assembly passed a resolution to establish the Vietnam-Greece Friendship Parliamentarians Group to update and strengthen the group's activities.

This shows the importance that Vietnam attaches to strengthening the cooperation between the two countries' parliaments through friendship parliamentary groups. The visit was attended by Mr. Pham Dinh Toan, Chairman of the Vietnam-Greece Friendship Parliamentary Group, and is the first step to establish a cooperative relationship between the Vietnam-Greece Parliamentary Group and the Greece-Vietnam Parliamentary Group.

This will also be 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 practical activities, 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./.

(TTXVN/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/thuc-day-hop-tac-nghi-vien-dua-quan-he-viet-nam-hy-lap-vao-phat-trien-thuc-chat-post1064396.vnp