National Assembly Vice Chairman Huynh Ngoc Son has made several proposals to the parliament of the Czech Republic aimed at increasing bilateral consultation and coordination at multilateral forums.

During separate talks with Czech Senate President Milan Stech and Deputy Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies Vojtech Filip during his visit from September 17-20, Son requested that the Czech parliament continue to send delegations to Vietnam while maintaining close monitoring of the implementation of signed bilateral agreements with a view to achieving the best results for both sides.

Vice Chairman Son welcomed Czech’s recognition of the Vietnamese community in the country as its 14th minority ethnic group, saying that this is proof of the traditional friendship between Vietnam and the Czech Republic.

“We are grateful for the effective assistance that the Czechoslovakia in the past and the Czech Republic at present have provided to Vietnam’s cause of national defence and construction,” Son said, adding that many Vietnamese officials used to study in the Czech Republic, and they are the valuable asset of the bilateral friendship.

He also affirmed that the Vietnamese National Assembly will create favourable conditions for Czech businesses to invest in Vietnam. On the other hand, Vietnam hopes that the Czech parliament would soon ratify the Vietnam-EU Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) which was signed in June 2012 as well as help push forward the process to sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and EU, Son told his hosts.

The NA Vice Chairman took the occasion to discuss with the Czech parliamentarians China’s irrational “nine-dash line” in the East Sea and called on the Czech Republic to become more involved in ensuring regional stability and maritime safety in the East Sea. He also asked the Czech Republic to support Vietnam’s viewpoint on settling disputes at sea by peaceful measures on the basis of international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the ASEAN-China Declaration of the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) while working towards a Code of Conduct for Parties in the East Sea (COC).

Both Czech Senate President Milan Stech and Deputy Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies Vojtech Filip welcomed the Vietnamese NA leader’s visit.

Senate President Milan Stech stated that all disputes should be solved by peaceful or legal measures, not by using weapons or threatening to use force.

Deputy Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies Vojtech Filip said the Czech Republic always backs the signing of an FTA between the EU and Vietnam as well as EU’s recognition of Vietnam’s market economy. He expressed his wish that Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang would make a visit to the Czech Republic to boost economic-trade ties between the two countries.

As part of his visit, NA Vice Chairman Son also met with Deputy Minister of Defence of the Czech Republic Tomas Kuchta to discuss possible cooperation in defence technology and compare note on policies towards soldiers participating in UN peacekeeping forces at hot spots in the world.-VNA