Hanoi (VNA) - National Assembly (NA) Chairman Tran Thanh Man and President of the National Assembly and Speaker of the House of Representatives of Thailand Sophon Zaram have agreed to work closely to effectively implement cooperation agreements between the two legislatures, while expanding parliamentary exchanges and coordination in support of the Vietnam–Thailand Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
The agreement was reached duringt their talks in Hanoi on August 5 following an official welcome ceremony for the Thai legislator, who is paying his first official visit to Vietnam.
Welcoming the Thai parliamentary leader, Chairman Man said the visit will inject fresh momentum into parliamentary cooperation and held special significance as it coincides with the 50th founding anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Thailand (August 6, 1976–2026), following the elevation of bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in May last year.
For his part, Zaram described Vietnam–Thailand relations as a model of friendship and cooperation that contributes to stability and prosperity in the region.
During the talks, the two sides briefed each other on the socio-economic development in their respective countries and discussed measures to further strengthen the bilateral relations and parliamentary cooperation.
The Vietnamese NA Chairman congratulated Thailand on its prominent socio-economic achievements and expressed confidence that the country will continue successfully implementing its 20-year national strategy.
He also reaffirmed Vietnam's consistent foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, cooperation, and development, as well as diversification and multilateralisation of international relations, stressing that Vietnam always attaches great importance to and accords high priority to its Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Thailand, a key partner and close companion in ASEAN and the Mekong sub-region.
The two sides expressed their satisfaction with the positive progress in Vietnam –Thailand relations across all areas since the establishment of their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. They agreed to continue working closely to effectively implement high-level agreements, maintain exchanges of all-level visits and bilateral cooperation mechanisms; strengthen cooperation in defence and security, economy, trade and investment in a balanced and sustainable manner; and strive to raise two-way trade to 25 billion USD in the time to come.
They also pledged to strengthen infrastructure, logistics, business and locality connectivity, while expanding cooperation in tourism, education - training, science - technology, innovation and people-to-people exchanges; continue preserving and promoting cultural values associated with Vietnam–Thailand friendship; make good use of the Vietnamese community in Thailand as a bridge between the two countries; and step up coordination in addressing issues of mutual concern.
Highlighting the important role of legislative cooperation, the two parliamentary leaders agreed to step up exchanges of delegations at all levels and effectively implement the cooperation agreements between the two legislative bodies, as well as a memorandum of understanding between the Office of the Vietnamese NA and the Secretariat of the House of Representatives of Thailand.
They also agreed to expand exchanges among specialised committees, friendship parliamentarians' groups, young and women parliamentarians, and parliamentary advisory bodies in lawmaking, supreme supervision, digital transformation, green growth and climate change response.
The two sides pledged to strengthen parliamentary oversight of the implementation of high-level agreements and the action programme for the Vietnam–Thailand Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2026–2031, while promoting the "three connection" strategy to foster supply chain, business and locality links.
Regarding regional and international issues, they agreed to continue close coordination within ASEAN, the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and other multilateral parliamentary forums, while upholding ASEAN's central role and strengthening cooperation through Mekong sub-regional mechanisms.
On the occasion, President of the National Assembly and Speaker of the House of Representatives of Thailand Sophon Zaram invited NA Chairman Tran Thanh Man to pay an official visit to Thailand. The top Vietnamese legislator accepted the invitation and said the visit will be arranged at an appropriate time./.
