Hanoi (VNA)– Vietnam’s presence at the third Meeting of Speakers of Eurasian Countries’Parliaments (MSEAP 3) shows its active and responsible engagement inmultilateral parliamentary diplomacy and promotes its role as a player inregional and global parliamentary cooperation mechanisms.

National Assembly (NA)Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan will lead a delegation to attend the MSEAP 3 andvisit Turkey from October 7 – 12 at the invitation of Chairman of the StateDuma of Russia Vyacheslav Volodin and Speaker of the National Assembly of theRepublic of Korea Moon Hee-sang who are co-chairs of MSEAP and Speaker of theGrand National Assembly of Turkey Binali Yildirim.

As a joint initiativeof Russia and the RoK launched in 2016, the annual event aims to enhancecollective actions between parliaments of Eurasian countries and promote therole of parliamentary diplomacy.

Vietnam took part inits first edition in Russia in 2016 and the second meeting in the RoK in 2017.This year’s event will convene in Antalya, Turkey under the theme “EconomicCooperation, Environment and Sustainable Development in Eurasia.”

The meeting will be animportant opportunity for the Vietnamese NA deputies to meet and exchange viewswith Eurasian lawmakers about regional and global issues of mutual concern,share information and experience in parliamentary activities and strengthenpartnerships with other parliaments in the region.

The presence ofVietnam at the event is also expected to consolidate the relations between theStates and NAs of Vietnam and Turkey and demonstrate its support for Russia andthe RoK as the MSEAP co-chairs.

With its increasingly active engagement in global and regional parliamentarydiplomacy activities, the Vietnamese NA supports cooperation with Eurasianparliaments for the maintenance of the world’s peace, security and prosperity.

Following the MSEAP 3,NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan will begin an official visit to Turkey. This isthe first visit made by a top legislator of Vietnam and also the highest-levelvisit to Turkey.

The visit will mark amilestone in the two NAs’ relations, and at the same time, aims to furtherdeepen the friendship and multifaceted partnership between Vietnam and Turkeyas the two countries are celebrating the 40th anniversary of theirdiplomatic ties.

During the visit, thetwo sides are expected to discuss ways to bolster the bilateral cooperation inkey areas, reinforce their political trust for each other and translate thesigned agreements into reality. In addition, it will provide a platform forenterprises from both sides to meet and seek partnerships and investmentopportunities.

Since the twocountries set up the diplomatic relations on June 7, 1978, their ties have seendecent progress with the exchange of a number of high-level visits, notably thevisit of Deputy NA Chairman Nguyen Duc Kien to Turkey in February 2011 andTurkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim’s visit to Vietnam in August last year.

Turkey backs the stance of Vietnam and ASEAN countries on the settlement of theEast Sea disputes by peaceful means and via dialogue and respect forinternational law. It shows its support for Vietnam’s bid to become anon-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2020-2021.

Turkey is now Vietnam’s leading trade partner in the Middle East. In 2017,two-way trade exceeded 2.1 billion USD, of which Vietnam’s exports were valuedat 1.9 billion USD. In the first half of 2018, the figure was 970 million USDwith 843 million USD worth of exports from Vietnam.

Turkey has been agateway for Vietnamese key products like rice, rubber, tea, clothing, footwear,electronics, handicrafts and more to enter the Middle East and European Unionmarkets. Meanwhile, Turkey exported to Vietnam steel, building materials,cotton, chemicals and auto parts.

Turkey currentlyoperates 15 FDI projects worth a total of 704 million USD in Vietnam, making itthe 26th largest foreign investor in the Southeast Asian country.

In June 2016, nationalflag carrier Turkish Airlines launched direct flights from Istanbul to Hanoiand Ho Chi Minh City. –VNA