National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue (front, left) greets delegates at the event (Photo: VNA) Hanoi, (VNA) - A ceremony was held in Buenos Aires on April 25 (local time) to mark the 50th founding anniversary of the Vietnam-Argentina diplomatic relations with the theme "Present and Future".
In his welcome speech, Ambassador Eduardo LionelDemayo, Director of the Argentine Foreign Service Institute, underlined thatArgentina considers Vietnam an important partner in Asia and believes thatthere are plenty of cooperation opportunities for the two sides.
He said that since setting up a comprehensivepartnership in 2010, the two countries have expanded their cooperation to manyareas, adding that Argentina wishes to establish a strategic partnership withVietnam in a number of fields, contributing to further deepening bilateraleconomic and trade relations, especially in the area of food and foodstuff.
He also pointed to many potential areas for thetwo sides to collaborate, including culture, education, people-to-peopleexchange, and international matters of shared interest.
In his speech at the ceremony, National AssemblyChairman Vuong Dinh Hue shared his viewpoints on the current world situation,Vietnam’s external policy and the Vietnam-Argentina ties.
Highlighting the great advantages, potential as well as challengesthat the world is experiencing, the Vietnamese top legislator underlined thesignificance of solidarity, international cooperation and joint efforts torespond to global challenges, seek peaceful solutions to disputes on the basisof respect for independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, politicalinstitution of states as well as the United Nations Charter and internationallaw.
He underlined the great chances from the globaltrends of digital transformation, green economy and innovation, whileemphasising the need to speed up economic connectivity and cooperationinitiatives on both regional and global scales, along with continuous effortsto promote the construction of a new global system that is more equal and moresustainable for all countries and economies.
In his welcome speech, Ambassador Eduardo LionelDemayo, Director of the Argentine Foreign Service Institute, underlined thatArgentina considers Vietnam an important partner in Asia and believes thatthere are plenty of cooperation opportunities for the two sides.
He said that since setting up a comprehensivepartnership in 2010, the two countries have expanded their cooperation to manyareas, adding that Argentina wishes to establish a strategic partnership withVietnam in a number of fields, contributing to further deepening bilateraleconomic and trade relations, especially in the area of food and foodstuff.
He also pointed to many potential areas for thetwo sides to collaborate, including culture, education, people-to-peopleexchange, and international matters of shared interest.
In his speech at the ceremony, National AssemblyChairman Vuong Dinh Hue shared his viewpoints on the current world situation,Vietnam’s external policy and the Vietnam-Argentina ties.
Highlighting the great advantages, potential as well as challengesthat the world is experiencing, the Vietnamese top legislator underlined thesignificance of solidarity, international cooperation and joint efforts torespond to global challenges, seek peaceful solutions to disputes on the basisof respect for independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, politicalinstitution of states as well as the United Nations Charter and internationallaw.
He underlined the great chances from the globaltrends of digital transformation, green economy and innovation, whileemphasising the need to speed up economic connectivity and cooperationinitiatives on both regional and global scales, along with continuous effortsto promote the construction of a new global system that is more equal and moresustainable for all countries and economies.
NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue (centre) speaks at the celebrating event (Photo: VNA) From one of the poorest countries in the world that sufferedserious consequences of the war, Vietnam has made great and historicalachievements, becoming a developing country undertaking industrialisation,modernisation and strong and intensive international integration, he said.
He underscored Vietnam's consistent externalpolicy of independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation,development, diversification and multilateralization of relations, with activeand proactive integration into the world.
He affirmed that amid the complicated and fiercecompetition among world powers, Vietnam is determined not to take sides but tochoose the right, based on international law. Vietnam actively participates inand promotes its role in regional and international multilateral mechanisms,especially the ASEAN, UN, UNESCO, APEC, ASEM and FEALAC, while actively andresponsibly contributing, together with partners, to building a peaceful andstable international order, ensuring the legitimate interests of all peoples onthe foundation of respect for international law and the UN Charter.
The NA leader spotlighted the leading role of theVietnamese NA in institutionalising political orientations and politicalpolicies, and deciding important issues of the country, as well as in lawbuilding and supervising the implementation of the law and policies.
The Vietnamese NA always gives special priority to developing friendship andbilateral and multilateral parliamentary diplomatic cooperation in all forms,at all scales and levels, contributing to building a firm socio-politicalfoundation for the country's foreign relations and international integration,he said.
The Vietnamese top legislator said that amid thecurrent complicated world situation, Vietnam and Argentina should support andsupplement each other in terms of economy following the South-South cooperationmechanism, thus ensuring food security and energy security, responding toclimate change, connecting the supply chains in processing, manufacturing,agriculture, industry, and fostering waterways, aviation and logistics linkagetogether and with other partners.
Vietnam wishes to, together with Latin Americancountries, to actively tap opportunities to multiply strengths and make concerted efforts to handle traditional and non-traditionalsecurity challenges, contributing to maintaining peace, stability anddevelopment in the region and the world, he stated.
NA Chairman Hue affirmed that Vietnam attachesgreat importance to and wishes to promote win-win cooperation with the LatinAmerican region. Vietnam currently has diplomatic relations with all 33countries in the region, including traditional friends with long-standing ties,similarities in tradition and culture and common interests.
Vietnam is ready to discuss with Mercosur member countries theearly establishment of a free trade agreement with a view to creating newopportunities to promote trade, investment, boost economic growth and expandcooperation between Vietnam and South American countries.
At the same time, Vietnam will work to connect and boost cooperation between ASEANand Mercosur, especially in fields where the two sides are strong in andcapable of supplementing each other.
Chairman Hue also pointed out that in the Latin American region, Cuba is stillunder the pressure of embargos. He called for the early lifting of the embargoagainst Cuba, and the resumption of dialogues between concerned parties withgood will and constructive attitude so as to enhance mutual understanding,narrow differences and seek fields for win-win cooperation.
The Vietnamese NA Chairman stressed thatVietnam attaches great importance to and wishes to further promote thecomprehensive partnership with Argentina, noting that 2023, which marks the 50th year the two countries foster their friendship, is a milestone in bilateral ties.
He held that the common noble values and warm feelings between the twocountries are invaluable asset as well as a natural glue and strong motivationfor them to take their relationship to a new stage of development with a newvision for the next 50 years in three main aspects.
First, in thepolitical-diplomatic field, the two countries should strengthen the tiesbetween their leaders through high-level visits and meetings at regional andinternational forums, and optimizing the role of the parliament and politicalparty channel.
Second, in theeconomic-trade aspect, the two countries should optimize the role of theinter-government committee, complete the legal framework and create the bestpossible conditions for market access of each other’s goods. Vietnam andArgentina should also connect their business communities and encourageinvestment in each other’s market, consider and push for the opening of directflights between Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Buenos Aires, and promotecooperation between localities as well as people-to-people exchange and tourism.
The NA Chairman suggested the two countries make the best useof free trade frameworks and agreements, particularly the Southern CommonMarket (Mercosur) and the Comprehensiveand Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP),and work toward an FTA between Vietnam and the Mercosur.
The third field is culture-education-tourism, Hue said, proposing intensifyingcooperation on training between universities and research establishments. Heasked Argentina to grant scholarships in Spanish language learning for Vietnamesestudents and promote collaboration in sports, tourism promotion and sharing of experiencein tourism management and development.
In his remarks, Chairman of the External RelationsCommittee of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies Eduardo Felix Valdés saidlooking back the past 50 years, the Argentina-Vietnam relations have seen manyachievements across 13 important fields of cooperation.
Vietnam is an important and strategic trade partner of Argentina in the world,and bilateral trade ties have made big leaps, surging 600% to surpass the markof 4 billion USD, making Vietnam the sixth largest trade partners of Argentina.
Eduardo Valdés stressed that the Vietnamese NA Chairman’s visit is animportant milestone, allowing the two sides to substantiate their cooperationin the interests of the two peoples. He noted that the two parliaments haveestablished parliamentary friendship groups, which is an important mechanism tointensify parliamentary cooperation.
He went on to say that the cooperation agreement between the Argentine Chamberof Deputies and the Vietnamese NA reached during Chairman Hue’s visit is a bigstride forward in bilateral parliamentary cooperation, creating a dialogue mechanismfor the exchange of information and experience in law making and fields ofcommon interest.
In themorning the same day, NA Chairman Hue and delegates of the two countrieswitnessed the signing of cooperative documents, including agreements on mutual legalassistance in criminal matters, extradition and the transfer of sentencedpersons, a cooperation agreement between the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) and the Argentine National News Agency (Telam), and an MoU on promotingcooperation in trade and investment./.
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