Vietnam and Singapore's parliaments strengthen cooperation.

During a meeting with the Vice Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly, Huynh Ngoc Son, on July 30, the Speaker of the Singaporean Parliament, Ms. Halimah Yacob, expressed her desire to promote cooperation between the parliaments of the two countries, not only in bilateral relations but also in multilateral relations.

The Speaker of the Singapore Parliament receives the Vice Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly, Huynh Ngoc Son. (Photo: Kim Yen/Vietnam+)

Singapore's Speaker of Parliament, Yacob, emphasized the need for the parliaments of both countries to strengthen coordination within the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) and other international forums.

National Assembly Vice Chairman Huynh Ngoc Son affirmed to Singaporean Parliament Speaker Yacob that Vietnam will continue to cooperate with ASEAN and AIPA member countries, including Singapore, to build and form a united and developed ASEAN Community by 2015.

Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Huynh Ngoc Son suggested that, in order to contribute to enhancing bilateral relations, the National Assemblies of the two countries should continue to strengthen exchanges of high-level delegations, focus on cooperation between specialized committees; consider signing a cooperation agreement between the two National Assemblies and promote the establishment of a parliamentary friendship group in each country.

The Singaporean Parliament leaders acknowledged the proposals from the Vietnamese side and affirmed that they would proceed with the establishment of a parliamentary friendship group with Vietnam, and would send a high-level Singaporean delegation to attend the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) General Assembly to be held in Vietnam in 2015.

Vice Chairman Huynh Ngoc Son conveyed the invitation from National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung to Singaporean Parliament Speaker Yacob to pay an official visit to Vietnam, and Ms. Yacob happily accepted the invitation, promising to arrange the visit in the near future.

During their working visit to Singapore from July 29th to 30th, the Vietnamese National Assembly delegation, led by Vice Chairman Huynh Ngoc Son, also held meetings with the Senior Minister of State for Defence, Mr. Chan Chun Sing; the Second Minister for Home Affairs, Mr. S Iswaran; the Permanent Undersecretary of Defence, Mr. Chan Yeng Kit; and the Vice Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Defence and Foreign Affairs, Ms. Ellen Lee.

During the working sessions, the Vietnamese delegation exchanged views on cooperation in related fields. The Vietnamese side highly appreciated Singapore's significant achievements in economics, society, and foreign relations in recent years, as well as its increasingly important role in ASEAN and other regional and international organizations.

The delegation welcomed the ongoing discussions between the two countries on the substance of the Strategic Partnership, aiming for its official announcement during Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's upcoming official visit to Vietnam. They expressed confidence that the Strategic Partnership would be a driving force for the development of cooperation between the two countries to a new level, making it deeper, more effective, and more substantive, for the benefit of the people of both countries, and for peace, stability, and development in the region and the world.

Leaders from Singapore's Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Home Affairs expressed satisfaction with the development of cooperation with Vietnamese ministries and agreed to explore new areas of cooperation while continuing to effectively implement existing cooperation mechanisms.

Singapore assessed that the visit of the Vietnamese National Assembly delegation contributed to strengthening the friendly relations between the two countries on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries (August 1, 1973 - August 1, 2013).

According to VNA - LT