On the afternoon of April 3 (Hanoi time), at the National Assembly building, President of the Armenian National Assembly Alen Simonyan hosted a ceremony to welcome Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly Tran Thanh Man and his high-level Vietnamese delegation on their official visit to Armenia.

Following the welcome ceremony, the two top legislators held talks, during which the host leader expressed his honor to meet again Chairman Tran Thanh Man after his visit to Vietnam in November 2024, while recalling memorable moments from that trip, especially the good impressions of the country and people of Vietnam.

Chairman Tran Thanh Man thanked Simonyan and the leaders, delegates, and people of Armenia for the warm, respectful, and thoughtful reception extended to him and his entourage.

Recalling the significance of President Ho Chi Minh’s visit to Armenia in July 1959, the top Vietnamese legislator emphasized that this visit, along with the visit of NA President Alen Simonyan to Vietnam in November 2024, will provide momentum for further strengthening the friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Armenia, as well as between the two peoples.

Congratulating Armenia on its achievements in political stability, economic development, and asserting its role on the international stage, Man also shared Vietnam’s remarkable socio-economic achievements in 2024 and its major directions for 2025, aiming towards a new era of prosperity for the nation.

He affirmed that Vietnam always values its traditional friendship with Armenia and appreciated Armenia’s support during Vietnam’s struggles for independence and its subsequent nation-building efforts. He expressed hope that the two countries will continue to promote these strong traditions, while deepening cooperation in all fields, including through Party, State, Government, National Assembly, and people-to-people exchanges.

To further ramp up cooperation between the two legislative bodies, Chairman Tran Thanh Man announced that Vietnam’s National Assembly has established the Vietnam-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group and expressed confidence that this initiative, along with the activities of the Vietnam-Armenia and Armenia-Vietnam Friendship Groups, would promote exchange, cooperation, and serve as a bridge to boost ties between the two countries and their legislatures.

The host leader expressed strong agreement with Chairman Tran Thanh Man’s remarks, stressing that Armenia highly values Vietnam not only as a friend but also as a leading economic and trade partner in the region.  She also mentioned that Armenia would host the United Nations Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 17) in 2026 and expressed a desire for Vietnam to send a high-level delegation to the conference.

Both sides agreed that the Vietnam-Armenia relationship has made significant progress across a variety of fields, and they recognized that there are still many opportunities to boost cooperation and maximize its effectiveness for the benefit of both peoples and for peace, cooperation, and development in the region and the wider world. They consented to continue intensifying exchange activities, especially at the high level in a bid to build political trust and create a foundation for cooperation across various fields.

Praising the signing of a cooperation agreement between the two NAs during this visit, which lays the legal framework for further enhancing relations between the two legislative bodies in the coming period, the two leaders consented to increase exchanges of high-level NA leaders, cooperation between parliamentary bodies, friendship groups, young parliamentary groups, women parliamentary groups, and legislator of both countries.

They also concurred to enhance cooperation, information exchange, and share experience between specialized committees and NA deputies in parliamentary activities, particularly in legislation and oversight. They emphasized the importance of monitoring and ensuring the effective implementation of bilateral and multilateral agreements signed by both governments, particularly those promoting economic and trade cooperation.

Host and guest agreed that economic and trade cooperation between the two countries has seen positive developments in recent years, especially since the Vietnam-Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) Free Trade Agreement came into effect in 2016. However, they noted that trade turnover reached nearly US$500 million in 2024, but it was still not fully sustainable.

To bolster cooperation in this area, Chairman Tran Thanh Man urged Armenia to facilitate Vietnamese businesses’ access to the Armenian market and the EAEU, particularly through cooperation mechanisms within the framework of the Vietnam-EAEU Free Trade Agreement, of which Armenia is a member.

He suggested increasing information exchange on policies and markets, providing favorable conditions for businesses of both countries to participate in investment and trade promotion activities, industry fairs, and international exhibitions held in each country. He also called for tackling obstacles for businesses investing in each other's markets and for timely exchange of trade lists that could diversify bilateral exports and imports in areas where both countries have strengths.

Acknowledging that both countries boast huge potential and ample room for cooperation in culture, tourism, education and training, transport, locality-to-locality cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges, the two sides agreed to further augment cooperation between localities to fully utilize their potential and contribute to broader cooperation between the two nations.

On this occasion, Man proposed that Armenia encourage the organization of cultural exchange activities to promote the values and history of both countries, thereby deepening understanding among younger generations and fostering friendship between the two peoples. He also suggested considering the establishment of an Armenia-Vietnam Friendship Association in Armenia.

Regarding cooperation at international and regional forums, the two leaders emphasized the importance of maintaining contacts, consultations, coordination, and mutual support at multilateral parliamentary forums and on regional and global issues of shared concern, such as those at the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), and the Francophone Parliamentary Union (APF). They also expressed their commitment to actively contributing to the promotion of peace and stability in the region and the world as a whole.

As an active member of ASEAN, the AIPA General Assembly, Man affirmed that Vietnam is ready to serve as a bridge for Armenia to expand cooperation with ASEAN-AIPA and other member parliaments. He also proposed that the two sides continue to coordinate effectively at regional forums and support ASEAN and Vietnam’s stance on the East Sea (South China Sea) issue, advocating for the peaceful resolution of disputes based on international law, the United Nations Charter, and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Following the talks, Man and Simonyan signed a cooperation agreement between the two legislative bodies.

NA Chairman Tran Thanh Man begins official visit to Armenia

VOV.VN - National Assembly (NA) Chairman Tran Thanh Man, accompanied by his spouse Nguyen Thi Thanh Nga and a high-ranking NA delegation, arrived in Yerevan at 9:00 p.m. (local time) on April 1, starting an official visit to the Republic of Armenia at the invitation of President of the National Assembly of Armenia Alen Simonyan.

NA Chairman to attend IPU-150, make official visits to Uzbekistan, Armenia

VOV.VN - National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and his spouse are set to attend the 150th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU-150) and pay official visits to Uzbekistan and Armenia from April 2 to 8, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on March 28.