National Assembly Chairman meets with President of the Swiss Council of State

Within the framework of the official visit to the Swiss Confederation, on the afternoon of March 19, Vietnam time, National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung met with Chairman of the State Council (Senate) of the Swiss Confederation Hannes Germann and attended the plenary session of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung meets with President of the Swiss Federal Council of State (Senate) Hannes Germann. Photo: VNA

At the meeting, National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung affirmed that the delegation's visit aimed to promote and further deepen the friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Switzerland in general and the Swiss Parliament in particular.

National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung expressed his wish to open up new cooperation prospects in bilateral relations as well as in inter-regional and international cooperation.

Referring to the relationship between the two countries, National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung hoped that negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), including Switzerland, would progress well; helping to promote trade relations between the two countries and create a legal corridor for investment enterprises.

National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung highly appreciated the close coordination and mutual support between Vietnam and Switzerland at international organizations and multilateral forums, especially at the United Nations and the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), and affirmed that with its role, Vietnam supports Switzerland in strengthening relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Southeast Asian countries.

National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung thanked and asked the Swiss Government to continue creating favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community to live, work stably, and integrate into the host country, promoting its role as a bridge of friendship between the two countries.

Pleased to see the good development of bilateral relations between the two countries' parliaments, National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung suggested that the two sides have a consultation mechanism and closely coordinate with each other at multilateral parliamentary forums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Francophone Parliamentary Union (APF).

National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung expressed his wish to receive support and assistance from the Swiss Federal Council of States and respectfully invited His Excellency the President of the Swiss Federal Council of States to attend the 132nd IPU Assembly in Vietnam in 2015.

At the reception, President of the Swiss Federal Senate Hannes Germann welcomed the good results of the talks between National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung and Speaker of the House of Representatives Ruedi Lustenberger.

Affirming that parliamentary cooperation is one of the effective cooperation channels in the Vietnam-Switzerland relationship, Mr. Hannes Germann suggested that the National Assemblies of the two countries strengthen cooperation activities, exchange experiences in legislative and supervisory work; and promote the role of supervising the implementation of agreements between the two governments to achieve practical results.

On the same evening, National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung and the high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese National Assembly left the capital Bern, successfully concluding their visit to Switzerland, and arrived at Geneva International Airport to depart for Rome, beginning an official visit to the Republic of Italy at the invitation of President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies Laura Boldrini.

According to Vietnam+