Vietnam and Slovakia have agreed to intensify cooperation and the sharing of experience in law making and supervision by increasing the exchange of visits by parliamentarians.

National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong and Speaker of the Slovak National Council Pavol Paska reached consensus on these issues during their talks, following an official welcoming ceremony held for the latter in Hanoi on Jan. 27.

The two leaders agreed on preparations for the signing of an agreement to create a legal foundation for the two legislatures to step up cooperation in the years to come.

Both Trong and Paska held that despite their geographical distance, Vietnam and Slovakia share numerous similarities and their time-honoured relationship has grown fruitfully.

However, bilateral economic, trade and investment ties remain modest and fail to catch up with the potential and desires of both nations, they noted.

The top legislators agreed to further promote mutually beneficial cooperative relations and facilitate the flow of goods to each other’s markets, as well as to the ASEAN market – the world’s most dynamically growing region – and the European Union (EU).

They also emphasised the need to set up an inter-governmental committee to beef up bilateral cooperation, and to strengthen coordination and reciprocal support at multilateral forums.

Trong thanked Slovakia for its stance in backing Vietnam in the export of leather-capped shoes to the EU market and putting Vietnam onto the list of prioritised nations to receive Slovak official development assistance.

The official also expressed gratitude to Slovakia for the favourable conditions it has created for overseas Vietnamese who are living, studying and working in the European country and its scholarships granted to Vietnamese students.

The National Assembly of Vietnam will do its utmost to nurture and develop the friendship and multifaceted cooperation between the two nations, Trong stressed.

He told his guest that Vietnam will create all favourable conditions for Slovak companies to invest in the country, especially in the transport, construction, healthcare and chemical industries.

Paska said he hoped that two-way trade would grow in the near future as an increasing number of Slovak enterprises have shown interest in Vietnam’s market.

The lawmaker said representatives from many major companies operating in the fields of infrastructure development, banking, heavy industry, healthcare and petro-chemistry are now accompanying the Slovak delegation and ready to cooperate with Vietnamese partners.

He suggested the opening of a direct air route between the two capital cities of Bratislava and Hanoi to facilitate exchanges and trade between Slovakia and Vietnam.

The Slovak parliament whole-heartedly supports the enhancement of cooperative ties for the benefit of both Slovakia and Vietnam, Paska said.

Also on Jan. 27, Speaker Paska and his entourage laid wreaths in tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum in Hanoi./.