He told Speaker of the House of RepresentativesHabib El Malki and Vice Speaker of the House of Advisors of Morocco AbdessamadKayouh that his visit aims to promote legislative ties between the twocountries, thus contributing to enhancing the bilateral relationship in thecoming time.
Hien suggested the two sides increase theexchange of delegations, especially at the high-ranking level, and continuetheir close coordination at regional and international forums, particularlywithin the frameworks of the UN, the Francophone community and the Non-AlignedMovement (NAM).
Trade between Vietnam and Morocco reached only190 million USD in 2016, he said, commenting that the figure does not matchtheir potential.
Hien, therefore, called on the two countries tointensify connectivity between their businesses, focusing on such fields astrade, tourism, finance and renewable energy.
At the same time, the two countries shouldexpand tri-party cooperation in areas of their strength like agriculture,fishery and information-technology given that Morocco is the leading investorin West Africa, the legislator noted.
He also proposed the early launch of directpayment services between commercial banks of Vietnam and Morocco to facilitatethe operation of their businesses.
For his part, Habib El Malki spoke highly ofVietnam’s role in the international arena, saying Morocco may choose Africa asone of the focuses of cooperation between the two countries in the time aheadsince Vietnam is integrating deeply into the global economy.
Vietnam and Morocco should further theircollaboration, including inter-parliamentary cooperation, in order to increasetheir mutual understanding, he proposed.
The two countries will convene a meeting of theirJoint Inter-Governmental Cooperation Committee in the time ahead and plan toorganise the Morocco-Vietnam Business Council to discuss specific jointeconomic projects, the host said, regarding these events as opportunities forthe two sides to advance their trade ties.
Meanwhile, Abdessamad Kayouh emphasised the needfor Vietnamese and Moroccan economic cooperation committees to exert greaterefforts to fully tap their potential for advanced bilateral relations.
Vietnam and Morocco have maintained their goodlegislative ties for many years. The two sides inked a cooperation agreement in2005 during former NA Chairman Nguyen Van An’s visit to Morocco. Former NAChairman Nguyen Sinh Hung received the Moroccan upper house leader in 2015 whowas in Vietnam to attend the 132nd Assembly ofthe Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU-132).
While in Morocco, NA Vice Chairman Hien met withMoroccan Prime Minister Saadeddine El Othmani, who expressed his wish thatVietnam and Morocco will step up their cooperation in various realms, rangingfrom culture to education.
The PM said he will instruct the MoroccanMinistry of National Education to conduct a working session with the VietnameseEmbassy to discuss the increase of Morocco’s scholarships for Vietnamesestudents.
During the visit, Hien also had working sessionswith President of the Morocco-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentary Group Said Eddorand other Moroccan officials.
On this occasion, he visited the Embassy ofVietnam in Morocco and met with representatives of the Vietnamese community inthe country.-VNA