The visit took place on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of
diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Argentina, aiming to strengthen the traditional friendship and solidarity between Vietnam and Argentina, as well as Latin American countries in general; affirm that Argentina is a priority, one of Vietnam's leading important partners in the Latin American region, promote the possibility of starting negotiations on the Vietnam - South American Common Market (MERCOSUR) FTA; start the journey following in Uncle Ho's footsteps (Montevideo - Uncle Ho's stop in 1912).
Half a century of cooperation and development of Vietnam - Argentina relations, although geographically distant, the people of the two countries have a friendly relationship, always giving each other solidarity and valuable support. Vietnam always respects and remembers the movement of the Argentine people in solidarity to support the Vietnamese people in the past struggle for national liberation. On October 25, 1973, the two countries established diplomatic relations. In January 1995, Vietnam opened an embassy in Buenos Aires; in February 1997, Argentina opened an embassy in Hanoi. In 2010, Vietnam and Argentina signed an agreement to establish a comprehensive partnership. The two sides maintain regular exchanges of visits. The Argentine side has had three presidential delegations pay official visits to Vietnam: President Carlos Menem (February 1997), President Cristina Fernandez (January 2013), President Mauricio Macri (February 2019) and many delegations of leaders of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (most recently, Foreign Minister S. Cafiero paid an official visit to Vietnam in July 2022). On the Vietnamese side, the delegations visiting Argentina included President Tran Duc Luong (November 2004), National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Van An (March 2006), Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung (April 2014), Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Uong Chu Luu (July 2012), Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (July 2014), and Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Do Ba Ty (July 2018). In 2023, the two countries will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations (October 25, 1973 - October 25, 2023). The two countries have established a number of mechanisms and cooperation/consultations. The cooperation mechanisms have been maintained: The political consultation mechanism between the two countries' foreign ministries has held 8 sessions, of which the 8th session was held online (May 2021); The two countries' foreign ministers held phone talks (April 2022); The Intergovernmental Cooperation Committee (established in 1999) meets every two years and has held its 7th session online (August 2021). The two countries also signed many Cooperation Agreements/Agreements as a basis for promoting the comprehensive cooperation relationship between Vietnam and Argentina. Vietnam is the 6th largest trading partner, the 5th largest export market of Argentina in the world and a key partner in South-South cooperation of Argentina in Southeast Asia; while Argentina is the 3rd largest trading partner of Vietnam in Latin America. Bilateral trade has continuously increased, from 316 million USD in 2007 to more than 4.8 billion USD in 2022. Cooperation between the two countries at international forums and organizations is increasingly close, especially at the United Nations, the Forum for East Asia - Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC), the World Trade Organization (WTO)... In the exchanges and meetings, the leaders of the two countries affirmed their respect and desire to further promote the development of bilateral cooperation. The Vietnamese side affirmed that it always attaches importance to the traditional friendship and comprehensive partnership with Argentina; wishes to develop the comprehensive partnership between Vietnam and Argentina, for the benefit of the people of the two countries, contributing to
peace , stability and development in the two regions and the world. Meanwhile, Argentina highly values the increasing role and position of Vietnam in the region and internationally, wishing to bring the comprehensive partnership with Vietnam to a new height.
Enhancing Vietnam - Argentina parliamentary cooperation Over the past years, the relationship between the two legislative bodies of Vietnam and Argentina has developed well through bilateral delegation exchanges and contacts within the framework of multilateral parliamentary forums. The Vietnamese National Assembly supports and highly appreciates the consolidation and development of the cooperative relationship between the two countries and is ready to promote parliamentary exchanges and cooperation between the two legislative bodies of Vietnam and Argentina. Meanwhile, the Argentinean legislative body affirmed its readiness to strengthen cooperation with the Vietnamese National Assembly in law-making, supervising the implementation of cooperation agreements signed between the two countries and at multilateral forums, and wishes to organize delegations to visit Vietnam to carry out cooperation activities between the two legislative bodies. The Vietnamese National Assembly has sent many delegations of National Assembly leaders to visit and work in Argentina, including senior leaders and specialized committees of the National Assembly.
Within the multilateral framework, parliamentarians of the two countries maintain contact, coordination and consultation with each other, especially at the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). The Vietnamese National Assembly has established the Vietnam - Argentina Friendship Parliamentarians' Group (November 2012). The fact that both National Assemblies have Friendship Parliamentarians' Groups will further promote the role of parliamentary diplomacy, strengthen cooperation, share experiences, and improve capacity in drafting legal documents, which is completely consistent with the goal of promoting comprehensive cooperation between the two countries, both in terms of relations on Party, State, parliament and people channels. The two sides have actively supported each other in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Vietnamese National Assembly donated 20,000 masks to Argentina (May 2020); Argentina donated 500,000 doses of the AztraZeneca vaccine to Vietnam (November 2021). Building on the traditional friendship in recent times, the upcoming visit to Argentina by National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue is expected to elevate and deepen parliamentary cooperation between the two countries. Sharing information with the press ahead of the visit, Chairman of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs Committee Vu Hai Ha said that within the framework of the visit, the two sides will discuss measures to promote the comprehensive partnership, especially in areas where Argentina has strengths, such as: agriculture; industry serving agricultural production, as well as green energy products, renewable energy, and raw materials that Argentina has strengths in. Regarding parliamentary cooperation, this time, the two sides are expected to sign a cooperation agreement between the Vietnamese National Assembly and the Argentine House of Representatives to deepen relations between the two parliaments, contributing to the Comprehensive Partnership. Mr. Vu Hai Ha added that during the visit, the National Assembly Chairman is expected to deliver a policy speech at the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The speech will inform about Vietnam's general foreign policy, Vietnam's policy towards the region, as well as towards Argentina, strengthening relations with the Latin American region. Speaking to reporters, Argentine Ambassador to Vietnam Luis Pablo Maria Beltramino affirmed that Argentina has high expectations for the upcoming visit of National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue to Argentina and considers this a milestone in strengthening diplomatic relations between the two countries.
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