At the invitation of the Speaker of the National Assembly of Vietnam, Vuong Dinh Huê, the Speaker of the Finnish Parliament Jussi Halla-aho is paying an official visit to Vietnam from March 24 to 26. This Monday morning, March 25, in Hanoi, Vuong Dinh Huê chaired an official welcoming ceremony for the Finnish leader. After the welcoming ceremony, the two parties spoke.
Jussi Halla-aho expressed joy that the two countries have moved from the level of development assistance to the level of development cooperation, promoting trade cooperation on the basis of mutual benefits. He pointed out that Vietnam is one of Finland’s important trade partners within ASEAN.
Over the past 50 years, the trade turnover of the two countries has increased significantly.
The Finnish leader said that the Vietnam-European Union Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) has been ratified by the Finnish Parliament. Finland also concluded another agreement on product investment protection with Vietnam. The two parties still have great potential for cooperation, particularly in the fields of energy, information technology, education, etc.
Vuong Dinh Hue, for his part, affirmed that Vietnam attaches great importance to the development of traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Finland. He declared himself satisfied with the positive development of cooperation between the two countries, particularly in the areas of politics – diplomacy, economy – trade, development cooperation, education – training…
He proposed that the two sides continue to promote delegation exchange activities. Finland supports strengthening relations between the Vietnamese Communist Party and Finnish political parties through appropriate forms of cooperation.
The Vietnamese leader highly appreciated the effective cooperation and mutual support between the two countries at multilateral forums, especially at the United Nations, thanked Finland and asked the country to continue supporting Vietnam in strengthening its comprehensive cooperation with the European Union (EU). Vietnam is ready to serve as a bridge for Finland to strengthen its relations with ASEAN.
According to Vuong Dinh Huê, the bilateral turnover of nearly 380 million USD recorded in 2023 still remains modest compared to the potential of the two parties. He affirmed that Vietnam is ready to create favorable conditions to promote trade cooperation, hoping that Finland will continue to facilitate Vietnam’s key exports to the Finnish market (steel products, machinery, equipment, means of transport and spare parts). , textiles and accessories for textiles, clothing, shoes, etc.).
He hoped that Finland would support the European Commission (EC) in the upcoming removal of the yellow card against illegal, undeclared and unregulated (IUU) fishing, imposed on aquatic products exported by Vietnam, thus supporting its socio-development. economical, giving European consumers the opportunity to taste good quality aquatic products at competitive prices.
The National Assembly of Vietnam highly appreciated the signing of the framework agreement between the two governments regarding projects financed under the Finnish Public Investment Program and the Vietnam Transition Assessment Report in June 2021, creating a framework for the implementation of projects using official development assistance and preferential loans sponsored by the Finnish government.
Vuong Dinh Huê hoped that Finland would help Vietnam train human resources for innovation and entrepreneurship; to support general education programs; to carry out professional cooperation in the areas of information technology, health, agriculture, etc.
Finland will continue to provide resources to Vietnam to develop the Forest Industry Information Management System (FORMIS), thereby strengthening capacity in forest governance, including the implementation of CITES (Convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora). Finland, in coordination with the EU, will continue to support Vietnam in the implementation of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (VPA/FLEGT), thereby promoting legal exports of wood from Vietnam to the EU, he hoped.
He asked Finland to support Vietnam in training cadres, carrying out humanitarian and peacekeeping activities abroad, and fighting crime. He hoped that Finland would continue to create favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community in this country.
During the meeting, the two leaders expressed their joy at the good cooperation between the two legislative bodies. The two sides continued to maintain mutual support in regional and international parliamentary forums, strengthen exchanges between parliamentarians, share experiences in parliamentary activities.
Vuong Dinh Hue asked the two sides to strengthen supervision of the effective implementation of international treaties and cooperation agreements signed between the government, ministries, branches and localities of the two countries; to complete the mechanism and legal corridor to facilitate cooperation between the competent bodies and businesses of the two countries.
The two countries will continue to promote coordination mechanisms and support each other in multilateral forums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Conference on Asia-Europe Parliamentary Cooperation (ASEP).
Agreeing with Vuong Dinh Hue on promoting educational cooperation between the two countries, Speaker of the Finnish Parliament Jussi Halla-aho said that Vietnam had been chosen as a priority country in the Finnish Talent Promotion Program.
More than 2,000 Vietnamese students study in Finland, the largest number of foreign students in this country. More than 10,000 Vietnamese in Finland constitute a community respected and appreciated for their diligence, hard work and sincerity.
Jussi Halla-aho expressed hope that cooperation between Hanoi Law University and the University of Helsinki, Finland will be implemented soon. The two countries plan to sign a memorandum of understanding between the ministries of Justice.
On this occasion, he hoped that relevant agencies of both sides would discuss and find solutions for outstanding issues to promote the Finnish Public Investment Support Fund in Vietnam.
During the talks, the two leaders discussed international and regional situations of mutual interest.
Earlier, in the morning, the Speaker of the Finnish Parliament, Jussi Halla-aho, and his entourage went to pay homage to President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum.
This article is originally published on lecourrier.vn
