Dhaka (VNA) – Chairman of the Vietnamese NationalAssembly (NA) Vuong Dinh Hue received Muhammad Faruk Khan, Chairman of theBangladesh Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Relations, and gave animportant speech at the Foreign Service Academy of Bangladesh in Dhaka onSeptember 21.

Expressing his honour to welcome the NA leader and theVietnamese delegation on an official visit to Bangladesh, Muhammad Faruk Khansaid the trip will continue helping to intensify the traditional friendshipbetween the two countries.

He affirmed that the legacy left by Bangabandhu SheikhMujibur Rahman, the Father of Bangladesh, and President Ho Chi Minh for thecountries created an important condition for both sides to promote theirrelations.

Chairman Hue expressed his delight at the talks with Speaker of the Parliament of Bangladesh Shirin SharminChaudhury and noted that the two sides have set up the Vietnam -Bangladesh and Bangladesh - Vietnam parliamentary friendship groups.

He asked the parliaments’ committees for foreign relations andthe chairpersons of the two parliamentary friendship groups to actively carryout the talks’ outcomes and the memorandum of understanding on cooperationbetween the legislative bodies so as to foster all-round ties.

The visiting leader also voiced his hope that manydelegations of Bangladesh’s parliamentary committees, women parliamentarians,and young parliamentarians will come to share experience with the Vietnamese NA’sagencies.

The enhancement of exchanges will provide an impetus forall-faceted relations between their countries, he added.

The same day, Chairman Hue delivered an important policyspeech on bilateral ties at the Foreign Service Academy of Bangladesh.

He said Vietnam, Bangladesh, and the international communityare integral parts of the world and the flows of the 21st century,so they need a new mindset and new actions. The increasingly active engagementof small and medium countries, together with the coordination among countriesof the South, is indispensable, particularly in the settlement of regional andglobal issues.

All countries, regardless of their sizes, should become trulyresponsible partners, jointly promote dialogue instead of confrontation,support multilateralism instead of unilateral acts, and comply with the UnitedNations Charter and international law, he went on.

Vietnam is exerting efforts to bolster friendship andeffective cooperation with other countries, especially traditional friends likeBangladesh, he said, emphasising the increasingly important role ofparliamentary diplomacy in developing Vietnam’s substantive bilateral andmultilateral relations, reinforcing the country’s connectivity with the region andcooperation with international partners, and nurturing the friendship andsolidarity with people around the world.

Amidst countless changes of the era and ups anddowns in history, the strong development of the traditional friendship and soundcooperation between Vietnam and Bangladesh is invariable, Hue stated.

Givingseveral recommendations to help bilateral ties grow more strongly, the toplegislator of Vietnam said the two sides should further enhance political ties,trust, and mutual understanding between their leaders, all-level authorities,and sectors by increasing delegation exchanges and meetings, including betweenthe two parliaments.
         
The countries need to coordinate closely to effectivelyimplement the ASEAN and Bangladesh outlooks on the Indo-Pacific to helpguarantee each party’s security and development interests. They need to bringinto play the role of the countries of the South in contributing to theformation of an open, inclusive, and balanced regional architecture and themaintenance of peace, stability, and prosperity in the region and the world. Theyshould also effectively carry out existing cooperation mechanisms and open newcooperation channels to meet each side’s concerns and interests.

In addition, Vietnam and Bangladesh should tighten economiclinks and consider this a focus of and impulse for bilateral relations, heremarked, suggesting them continue to explore new cooperation potential intrade, investment, transport, finance, banking, and customs; increase sharing economicdevelopment experience and policies; strengthen collaboration in greenagriculture, climate adaptation in agriculture, and green technology; andcreate more favourable conditions for their enterprises to do business andinvest in each other’s countries.

The NA Chairman also underlined the need to further reinforcedefence and security cooperation; step up people-to-people exchanges to fostersolidarity and friendship between the two countries' people; increase coordination viabilateral and multilateral channels to cope with such challenges as climatechange, epidemics, and water resources security; and call on the international communityand developed countries to increase sharing experience and give support todeveloping ones like Vietnam and Bangladesh.

Hueperceived that the two countries now have tremendous opportunities to stronglydevelop their ties, so they should stay confident and jointly take actions tobuild a brighter future./.