A Vietnamese National Assembly delegation, led by Vice Chairwoman Tong Thi Phong, is on a working visit to France from October 8-11.

On October 8, the Vice Chairwoman held talks with the First Vice President of the French National Assembly Laurence Dumont, during which she confirmed that Vietnam continuously attached importance to enhancing its multi-faceted ties with France, since the country was an important member of the United Nations and the European Union.

She expressed her hope that the two legislative bodies would maintain regular delegation exchanges and help their respective Governments implement programmes to enhance the bilateral strategic partnership.

Vietnam signed a number of international conventions, including those against torture and human trafficking, and joined the UN’s peacekeeping force. The country therefore wanted to learn from France’s experience in these fields, Phong said.

The Vice Chairwoman reiterated that Vietnam wished to receive support from France on environmental protection, climate change response, greenhouse gas emissions reduction and industrial wastewater treatment.

She also took this occasion to convey NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung’s invitation for leaders of the French parliament to attend the 132 nd General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union scheduled for March 2015 in Vietnam.

Laurence Dumont said she hoped Vietnam would increase its role in the Francophone community further. She added that the two countries had seen a continuous development of educational cooperation, reflected in the increase in the number of Vietnamese students in France.

The host also acknowledged the important role of the France-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group in boosting the bilateral strategic partnership.

That same day, NA Vice Chairwoman Phong held meetings with the group’s President Pascal Deguilhem and the Vice Chairman of the NA’s Law Commission Dominique Raimbourg.

She also met with Pascal Terrasse, the General Secretary of the Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie (APF), who proposed Vietnam host an APF meeting in 2017.

Phong expressed her gratitude for the General Secretary and French parliamentarians expressing their support for Vietnam’s view point to solve maritime disputes through peaceful negotiations.-VNA