EU ambassador bids farewell to NA Chairman

National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung hosted a reception on August 19 for Ambassador and Head of the EU Delegation to Vietnam Franz Jessen who came to say goodbye at the end of his tenure in the country.

The top legislator highly valued Jessen’s significant contributions to forging cooperation between Vietnam and the EU during his term in Vietnam.

He also expressed his gratitude to the Ambassador for helping ensure the visit to the European Parliament (EP) and the EU by a high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese legislature in 2011 was a success.

While working in Vietnam, the Ambassador exerted great efforts to connect Vietnamese localities and regions with EU members and promote their cooperation, Chairman Hung said.

The host noted that relations between the Southeast Asian nation and the EU have developed intensively and extensively over the past five years with trade reaching 19 billion USD in the first half of this year, up 11 percent year-on-year. The two sides have also maintained high-ranking delegation exchanges, he added.

The chief legislator voiced his hope that the Ambassador would continue cultivating and enhancing the friendship between the Vietnamese legislature and the EP and its members in any position while speeding up the signing of the Vietnam-EU Partnership and Cooperation Agreement.

In response, Jessen spoke highly of Chairman Hung’s visit to the EP and the EU in 2011, saying the trip opened up comprehensive cooperation opportunities for the two sides. He also praised the Vietnam National Assembly for successfully organising the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s 132nd Assembly early this year.

Lauding the fruitful developments in relations between the Vietnamese legislative body and the EP as well as its member parliaments, the Ambassador pledged to do his utmost to boost Vietnam-EU ties comprehensively.-VNA