Increasing economic links and connections between AIPA member countries and regional partners

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and his wife, along with the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, have just arrived in Hanoi, successfully concluding their official visit to Malaysia and attending the 46th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-46).

Malaysian Senate President Dato' Awang Bemee Awang Ali Basah went to the airport to see off National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man , his wife and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation. (Photo: VNA)

On this occasion, Deputy Foreign Minister Le Anh Tuan gave an interview to the accompanying group of reporters about the important and outstanding results. The following is the content of the interview.

Active participation, substantial contribution

Reporter: Could you please tell us about the outstanding results of the National Assembly Chairman's working trip to attend AIPA-46 and his official visit to Malaysia?

Deputy Foreign Minister Le Anh Tuan : Following the excellent results achieved in the mutual visits of the two countries' senior leaders in recent times, from September 16 to 20, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and his wife, along with a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, officially visited Malaysia and attended the 46th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-46) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at the invitation of the Malaysian Parliamentary Leader.

With the spirit of “active participation, substantial contribution, outstanding mark”, the working trip of National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man was very successful, achieving the set goals, leaving a mark in all aspects, thereby strongly affirming the role, commitment, responsibility and proactiveness of Vietnam towards AIPA cooperation in particular and ASEAN in general.

Bilaterally, the visit demonstrates the high political determination of both countries in implementing the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership established during General Secretary To Lam's official visit to Malaysia in November 2024, including making parliamentary cooperation increasingly effective and substantive. Through the visit, we have deepened political relations and made cooperation between the two countries more comprehensive, especially in the context of Malaysia assuming the role of ASEAN Chair 2025. Vietnam wishes to work with Malaysia and ASEAN countries to build a "Sustainable and Inclusive" ASEAN Community, united, strong, and consolidate ASEAN's central role in the regional structure.

We were very moved and proud when, in all the talks and contacts, Malaysian leaders expressed their respect for President Ho Chi Minh and their affection and admiration for the spirit of fighting for national independence and the will of self-reliance, self-improvement and advancement of the Vietnamese people.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man had important talks with the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Malaysia, met with the Prime Minister of Malaysia, met with the Vietnamese community in Malaysia and achieved many substantive results, in line with the aspirations of the two countries, contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region.

The leaders of the two countries have reached directional agreements, especially on economics, trade and investment, striving to soon bring bilateral trade turnover to over 18 billion USD; create favorable conditions for economic cooperation and remove some legal obstacles to facilitate the promotion of investment by Malaysian enterprises in Vietnam, promote cooperation in the fields of renewable energy, clean energy, oil and gas, science and technology, digital transformation, innovation, artificial intelligence, Halal industry, as well as actively participate in ASEAN Power Grid projects; continue to promote understanding and connect the people of the two countries through cultural, tourism and people-to-people exchanges, especially among the young generation.

Implement new cooperation contents, promote monitoring cooperation

Cooperation between the two National Assemblies was also an important topic that both sides focused on discussing during the working trip. The two sides agreed to increase the exchange of high-level delegations and committees, and exchanges between female and young parliamentarians; share information and experience in building and perfecting a suitable legal framework, creating favorable conditions for implementing new contents/areas of cooperation within the framework of the newly established Comprehensive Strategic Partnership; and promote cooperation in monitoring the effective implementation of international treaties and cooperation agreements signed between the two governments.

The two sides will continue to closely coordinate and support each other at multilateral forums such as the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF)... contributing to maintaining a peaceful, stable and developing environment in the region and the world.

On the multilateral level, the National Assembly Chairman's participation in AIPA-46 takes place at a very meaningful time, when Vietnam celebrates 30 years of joining ASEAN and AIPA (1995-2025), and especially when ASEAN is preparing to enter a new phase in the process of building the ASEAN Community with the Community Vision 2045. In the context of the world and the region undergoing many rapid and complex changes, AIPA and its member parliaments emphasize their determination to continue to strengthen solidarity, friendship, trust and cooperation, increase economic links and connectivity between member countries and with partners and regions, for peace, stability and development.

Together with the heads of delegations of AIPA member parliaments, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and Vietnamese National Assembly deputies actively participated in discussions at the meetings under the common theme of "Parliaments at the forefront for an ASEAN of inclusive and sustainable growth", affirming that the parliaments of member countries will accompany and actively participate with the governments of the countries, realizing high-level commitments and resolutions of AIPA into concrete actions and practical results, ensuring the connection between ASEAN's common cooperation strategies and plans with national development programs and goals, promoting economic cooperation, trade, science and technology, innovation, response to climate change, natural disasters, etc.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and the Vietnamese delegation also made many constructive contributions in discussions and dialogues with Observer parliaments and discussed resolutions at committees, groups of female parliamentarians and young parliamentarians.

The 46th AIPA General Assembly adopted resolutions proposed and co-sponsored by Vietnam to promote cooperation in priority areas such as digital economy and digital transformation, cyber security, enhancing intra-bloc trade, improving the effectiveness of cooperation with partners, and promoting the role of parliamentary diplomacy in maintaining peace and stability in the region. In particular, the group of resolutions adopted, including resolutions on enhancing the role of youth in digital transformation, on developing digital human resources, on effectively exploiting the digital economy, and on combating cybercrime, will help strengthen the “digital ecosystem”, in line with ASEAN’s common development requirements and linked to Vietnam’s current priorities.

Within the framework of AIPA-46, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man also had meetings with heads of the National Assembly delegations of Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia and Timor-Leste, thereby agreeing on new cooperation directions in politics-diplomacy, economics-trade-investment, science-technology, clean energy, telecommunications, and people-to-people exchange, contributing to promoting Vietnam's relations with development partners in a practical, effective and in-depth manner.

In addition, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Le Minh Hoan, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha, and leaders of the National Assembly's specialized committees also had many rich and diverse activities, and met with heads of parliamentary delegations of partner countries to discuss in-depth bilateral cooperation and parliamentary cooperation.

Contribute to the implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2045

Reporter: Could you please tell us about the directions for implementing the results achieved in the meetings with Malaysian leaders and the 46th AIPA General Assembly ?

Deputy Foreign Minister Le Anh Tuan: The positive results of the visit have opened up opportunities to promote and deepen cooperation between Vietnam and Malaysia in many fields, commensurate with the stature of the newly established Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. I believe that in the coming time, relevant ministries, branches and localities of the two sides will complete and implement the Action Program for the period 2025-2030, one of the important frameworks to realize commitments and deepen multifaceted cooperation between the two countries.

Firstly, the two sides will continue to promote high-level delegation exchanges and through all channels of the Party, Government, State, National Assembly and people-to-people exchanges to enhance mutual understanding and trust; promote and improve the effectiveness of existing cooperation mechanisms.

Regarding cooperation between the two National Assemblies, the two sides will increase the exchange of high-level delegations and committee-level delegations, and exchanges between female and young parliamentarians; share information and experience in building and perfecting a suitable legal framework, creating favorable conditions for implementing new contents/areas of cooperation within the framework of the newly established Comprehensive Strategic Partnership; and promote cooperation in monitoring the effective implementation of international treaties and cooperation agreements signed between the two governments.

Second, economic cooperation continues to be considered a bright spot in bilateral relations. Vietnamese ministries, sectors, localities and enterprises will proactively work with Malaysian partners to promote and support the participation of enterprises to expand trade relations and direct investment, soon surpass the trade turnover target of 18 billion USD and aim for higher goals. The two sides agreed to prioritize promoting the fields of oil and gas, energy, high technology, digital transformation of aquatic products, fisheries and Halal industry; especially encouraging cooperation between PetroVietnam and Petronas to develop bilateral and trilateral energy projects and participate in projects in the ASEAN Power Grid.

Third, in the socio-cultural field, the two countries will strengthen people-to-people exchanges, expand educational cooperation programs, vocational training, especially high-quality human resources, further promote tourism, and provide more scholarships for Vietnamese students to study in Malaysia. Both sides agreed to strengthen education, promote youth exchanges and cooperation to create a deep connection between the two peoples.

Along with that, the Party and State will also continue to pay attention to the thoughts, feelings and aspirations of the Vietnamese community living, studying and working in Malaysia so that the community can develop healthily and stably, contributing positively to the relationship as well as the stable and sustainable development of both nations.

Fourth, Vietnam will continue to support Malaysia's themes and priorities as ASEAN Chair 2025, closely cooperate and coordinate stances on international and regional issues of mutual concern, promote the building of a strong, united ASEAN Community that plays a central role in the region, and strive to promote peace, stability, cooperation and prosperous development in the region and the world.

Regarding AIPA-46, according to the assessment of the AIPA Secretariat, the implementation rate of resolutions of the AIPA General Assembly of each session is high, often over 90%. This demonstrates the practicality of the resolutions and the determination and responsibility of member parliaments to implement them. Recently, we have proactively proposed many resolutions, demonstrating the role and responsibility of the Vietnamese National Assembly.

In the coming time, the National Assembly, ministries and sectors need to immediately start effectively and responsibly implementing the resolutions adopted by the 46th AIPA General Assembly, continuing to turn the resolutions into policies that bring benefits to people and businesses, contributing to the implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 and strategic plans to build a dynamic, creative, self-reliant, inclusive and sustainable ASEAN Community.

Reporter: Thank you very much, Deputy Minister!

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Source: https://nhandan.vn/gia-tang-lien-ket-kinh-te-ket-noi-giua-cac-nuoc-thanh-vien-aipa-va-doi-tac-cac-khu-vuc-post909331.html