Vietnam, Finland step up cooperative ties hinh anh 1Politburo member and head of the Party Central Committee’s Organisation Commission Pham Minh Chinh (R) and First Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Finland Mauri Pekkarinen (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam and Finland should enhance collaboration in the fields of renewable energy development, information and technology, education and training, and renovation, said Politburo member and head of the Party Central Committee’s Organisation Commission Pham Minh Chinh.

Chinh, who is leading a high-level delegation from the Party Central Committee to visit the North European country from November 11-14, made the suggestion while holding talks with First Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Finland Mauri Pekkarinen on November 13.

Expressing his delight to visit Finland when the two countries are celebrating the 45th anniversary of their diplomatic relations, Chinh highlighted Vietnam’s socio-economic achievements after 30 years of reform, and spoke highly of the development of the bilateral relations with Finland.

He hoped that Finland will support Vietnam’s candidacy as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council in 2020-2021 term as well as work together with Vietnam to bolster the Vietnam-Finland relations in a deeper and more practical manner.

Chinh took the occasion to thank the Finnish Parliament, Government and people for their assistance for Vietnam through development projects in the past years. He said that Vietnam wishes to receive more official development assistance from Finland to realise its sustainable development goals and respond to global climate change.

Mauri Pekkarinen, for his part, said he desires to promote extensive ties with Vietnam, affirming that Finland supports cooperative relations between the Southeast Asian country and the EU, particularly the early signing and ratification of the EU-Vietnam free trade agreement.

Touching upon international issues of mutual interests, including the East Sea issue, the two sides agreed that all disputes should be settled by peaceful means in line with international regulations, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982).

Earlier, Chinh had a meeting with Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintila, during which bilateral cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, investment, education and training was on the table.

During their stay in Finland, the delegation also had working sessions with the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Finance and Academy of Finland, and competent authorities in the country on building a streamlined and efficient apparatus, training officials and fighting corruption.

Besides, they met with Chairman of the Finnish Communist Party Juha Pekka Vaisanen, and toured some education facilities to discuss cooperation opportunities under Vietnamese Government’s Project 165 which funds overseas training of government officials.-VNA
VNA