General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong meets with leaders of the two houses of the Russian Parliament

According to VNA Special Correspondent, on November 24, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong had a meeting with Ms. V. Matvienko, Chairman of the Federation Council (ie the Upper House) at the Federation Council headquarters, and met with Mr. I. Melnikov, Acting Chairman of the State Duma (ie the Lower House) at the State Duma headquarters, in Moscow, the capital of the Russian Federation.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong meets with Acting Chairman of the Russian State Duma I. Melnikov. Photo: VNA

After exchanging and informing each other about the situation in each country and the Vietnam-Russia relationship, and about a number of international and regional issues of mutual concern, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and the two leaders of the two houses of the Russian Parliament said that in the overall Vietnam-Russia relationship, the relationship between the two countries' parliaments has developed strongly through high-level visits by the leaders of the two countries' parliaments.

The Vietnamese National Assembly signed a Cooperation Agreement with the Federation Council of Russia and established a close cooperative relationship; and signed an Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Agreement in 2013 with the State Duma of Russia. These agreements have created an important legal basis for enhancing bilateral cooperation, exchanging legislative and supervisory experiences, and exchanging documents and information on the organization and operation of the National Assembly bodies of the two countries.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong met with Chairwoman of the Russian Federation Council - Valentina Matviyenko.

In an open, friendly and sincere atmosphere, both Chairman of the Federation Council Matvienko and Acting Chairman of the State Duma Melnikov emphasized that although Russia is a multi-party state, with representatives of many parties of different political orientations in the National Assembly, all agree and support the comprehensive friendship and cooperation with Vietnam and have great sympathy for Vietnam. Strengthening the comprehensive strategic partnership with Vietnam is a strategic policy of the Russian Federation.

Sharing the views of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong on the East Sea issue, the leader of the Russian Federation Parliament said that disputes in the Asia-Pacific region need to be resolved by peaceful means, on the basis of international law, the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and leaders of the two houses of the Russian Parliament agreed that the two countries' Parliaments will soon concretize the Cooperation Agreements through the Action Plans between the Friendship Parliamentary Groups; continue to promote the exchange of high-level delegations and Committees to enhance mutual understanding; step up the supervision of the implementation of agreements between the two governments to achieve practical results; support the promotion of the conclusion of negotiations and the early signing of the Free Trade Agreement between the Customs Union and Vietnam; support the creation of conditions for the Vietnamese community to study, live and do business in the Russian Federation to become increasingly stable and legal; emerging issues need to be resolved on the basis of respecting the interests of workers and the Strategic Partnership between Vietnam and the Russian Federation; continue to promote the consultation mechanism and closely coordinate with each other at multilateral forums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF)...

On this occasion, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong conveyed the invitation of National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung to the Russian National Assembly leaders to pay an official visit to Vietnam in December 2014, as well as to attend the 132nd Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) General Assembly to be held in Vietnam in early 2015.

*Late in the afternoon of November 24, last night Vietnam time, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong visited Zarubezhneft Group, one of the leading and oldest oil and gas groups in the Russian Federation's oil and gas industry.This group has been implementing projects in more than 30 countries, including the Vietsovpetro oil and gas joint venture with Vietnam since 1981 and the Rusvietpetro joint venture established in 2008.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong presents a bronze drum to Zarubezhneft Group.

Speaking at Zarubezhneft Group, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong stated: In the overall traditional friendship and comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and the Russian Federation, cooperation in the oil and gas and energy sector occupies an important position, considered one of the areas of long-term and effective strategic cooperation. The Vietnam-Russia Joint Venture Vietsovpetro is a symbol of this effective cooperation. Not only making great contributions to the economy, the Vietsovpetro Joint Venture is also the cradle of training oil and gas staff for Vietnam. General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong believes that with the tradition of good cooperation between the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group and Zarubezhneft, the signed contracts will be implemented effectively; at the same time, he encourages, supports and invites the Group to expand its scale of operations in Vietnam.

According to Vietnam+/VOV