Top Vietnamese, Finnish legislators hold talks

Chairman of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue (L) and Speaker of the Finnish Parliament Anu Vehvilainen (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue held talks with Speaker of the Finnish Parliament Anu Vehvilainen on September 10 morning right after a welcome ceremony in Helsinki.

Hue, who is on official Finland visit from September 10-11, affirmed that bilateral ties have grown over the past years, especially in politics-diplomacy, economy, trade, development cooperation, and education-training.

He suggested both sides resume the exchange of delegations soon and expressed his wish to boost ties with the Finnish Parliament. Apart from parliamentary cooperation, he said both sides could cooperate in other fields.

He also proposed Finland soon ratify the European Union – Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and accelerate the implementation of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). He also wished that Finland would assist Vietnam in accessing vaccine supplies.

Vehvilainen, for her part, affirmed that Finland could share its experience in its fields of strength. She proposed jointly working in climate change response and mitigating its negative impacts.

In order to reinforce parliamentary coordination, both sides shared the view that the two parliaments need to make important contributions to ties between the EU and ASEAN, as well as at mechanisms to which the two nations are members, and issues of shared concern.

They stated that the maintenance of peace, stability, security, maritime and aviation safety and freedom must be in line with international law and based on the respect of law-abidance principle.

On the occasion, Hue also invited the Speaker of the Finnish Parliament to pay official visit to Vietnam. The host accepted it with pleasure./.