Luxembourg, (VNA) – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with President of the Chamber of Deputies ofLuxembourg Fernand Etgen on December 9 (Luxembourg time), as part of hisofficial visit to the European country.

The Vietnamese PM took the occasion to affirmthat Vietnam attaches importance to the role and position of Luxembourg in theEuropean Union (EU), and wants to further promote the comprehensive partnershipbetween the two countries, including between the two law making bodies.

Etgen said the visit by the Vietnamese PM is asignificant milestone helping bolster cooperation between Luxembourg andVietnam in all aspects, in both bilateral and multilateral frameworks.        

He said he was impressed by Vietnam’s work in pandemic control, socio-economicrecovery and development, and external relations, particularly its successfulperformance as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in the2020-2021 tenure. He expressed a wish to work closely with Vietnam to promotemultilateral cooperation and strengthen the rules-based multilateral system.   

The two sides noted with pleasure the good development of Vietnam-Luxembourgrelations, and agreed to increase the exchange of all-level delegations betweenthe two legislative organs, and coordinate closely at regional and world inter-parliamentary          forums such as the Inter-ParliamentaryUnion (IPU), Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership (ASEP) and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie (APF).They also vowed to push joint efforts to maintain international peace andsecurity, realise Sustainable Development Goals, and respond to globalchallenges.

On the occasion, PM Chinh conveyed aninvitation from National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue to the President of the Chamber of Deputies ofLuxembourg to visit Vietnam in 2023, and proposed thatthe Luxembourg parliament early establish a Luxembourg-Vietnam friendship associationand a Luxembourg-Vietnam friendship parliamentarians group.

The two sides also reached consensus on further deepening economic andinvestment ties and expanding cooperation to potential fields such as greenfinance and response to climate change.

PM Chinh asked the Luxembourg parliament to push for the early ratification ofthe EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) by other EU members andsupport the early removal of the EC’s “yellow card” against Vietnam’s fisheryproducts. He also hoped for Luxembourg’s help for Vietnam to build aninternational financial centre as well as stronger collaboration in digitaltransformation, green transition, climate change response, finance-banking and logistics.

For his part, the Luxembourg legislatoraffirmed that the EVFTA and EVIPA create an important impetus for Vietnam-EU economic,trade and investment ties.  

He appreciated Vietnam’s efforts in shifting to sustainable fisheriesand welcomed the early formation of a strategic partnership in green finance tocontribute to the process of green transition and sustainable development.

Mentioning the Vietnamese community in Luxembourg, PM Chinh said thecommunity is an important bridge in the Vietnam-Luxembourg relationship, andrequested that the Luxembourg parliament continue to facilitate the community’sintegration into the host society.           

The PM shared Vietnam’s consistent stance on the East Sea issue, andasked the Luxembourg parliament to support the settlement of disputes bypeaceful means, the full and serious implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (called East Sea in Vietnam) and the negotiations on a substantive and effectiveCode of Conduct in the East Sea in accordance with international law and the1992 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea./.