NA Chairman underscores Vietnam’s commitment to fostering ties with Morocco

The meeting took place as part of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie (APF) Executive Committee’s meeting and a parliamentary forum on Francophonie cooperation in sustainable agriculture, food security, and climate change response held in Can Tho the same day.

Chairman Tran Thanh Man conveyed the regards and best wishes of  Party General Secretary To Lam, President Luong Cuong, and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Morocco. Through Rachid Talbi El Alami, Chairman Man also sent his best wishes to Moroccan leaders.

Man emphasized that in Vietnam’s foreign policy, the country always cherishes its friendship and comprehensive cooperation with Morocco, adding that the nation also highly values Morocco’s role both regionally and globally.

He congratulated Morocco for its tremendous achievements in economics, culture, society, especially in tourism, renewable energy, car manufacturing, and its preparation to host the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

Rachid Talbi El Alami affirmed that his nation always values its relationship with Vietnam in its foreign policy. On this occasion, he thanked Vietnam for supporting Morocco to become an observer of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) and emphasized that Morocco views Vietnam as a gateway to enhance cooperation with Asian countries and ASEAN member states.

He congratulated Vietnam on its outstanding achievements, describing it as a bright spot for economic growth in the region and the world, as well as its strong relations with other countries.

Vietnam and Morocco share many similarities in the struggle for national independence and the current process of national construction. Both nations have stable political systems, serving as a foundation for socio-economic development in each country. Vietnam’s average per capita income is approximately US$4,700, while Morocco’s stands at about US$4,000.

Rachid Talbi El Alami expressed his hope to continue maintaining and developing the cooperative relationship between the two countries in a more effective and substantial manner across all fields.

At the reception, the Speaker of the Moroccan House of Representatives informed the host leader about Morocco's social and economic situation, foreign relations, potential areas for cooperation with countries worldwide, including Vietnam, and affirmed that Morocco would be a "bridge" to promote cooperation between Vietnam and African nations.

The Vietnamese top legislator said he hopes that cooperation between the two countries will continue to be effective and practical in all areas, with the aim of deepening bilateral relations in the time ahead.

He suggested that both sides strengthen exchanges at all levels, especially high-level delegations, and continue close coordination at multilateral forums, especially at the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the International Organization of La Francophonie. Vietnam is also ready to act as a bridge to enhance relations between Morocco and ASEAN member states.

Regarding trade cooperation, which is still modest compared to both nations’ potential, Man recommended that the two sides intensify trade activities, investment, explore opportunities, and markets in each country, and cooperate in fields where both countries boast potential and strengths, such as chemicals, fertilizers, agricultural products, garments and textiles. He also suggested exploring cooperation opportunities in halal supply chains for exports to markets where each side holds advantages.

On locality-to-locality cooperation, the NA leader noted the need to foster relations between localities of both countries, including accelerating the establishment of a twinning relationship between Ho Chi Minh City and Casablanca. With the aim of making Ho Chi Minh City an international financial and tourism center, Vietnam hopes to learn from Casablanca’s development experience.

Man also requested that the Moroccan government continue to maintain scholarships and facilitate Vietnamese students studying in Morocco.

He stressed that parliamentary cooperation is an important channel in the overall good relationship between the two countries, both bilaterally and multilaterally. He thanked the Moroccan House of Representatives, Speaker Rachid Talbi El Alami, and members of the Parliament for their support in strengthening cooperation between the two countries.

To further augment cooperation between the two legislatures, Chairman Man proposed exchanging high-level delegations between the parliamentary leaders of both countries, as well as specialized agencies of both parliaments. Both sides should effectively implement the 2017 Agreement on Cooperation between the two legislative bodies, while reviewing and continuing to carry out signed cooperation activities, deepening parliamentary relations, and actively exchanging delegations at all levels and parliamentary friendship groups.

He underlined the need to enhance the exchange of experience and lessons from both countries’ legislative activities and mutual support at multilateral forums.

To turn economic and trade cooperation into reality and effectiveness, the Speaker of the Moroccan House of Representatives proposed establishing a business council to review each issue and identify specific solutions for implementation. They also discussed strengthening cooperation between Vietnamese localities and major port cities in Morocco.

Man stated that he would instruct the NA’s agencies to coordinate with relevant agencies to study and consider the proposals from the Speaker of the Moroccan House of Representatives.