VIETNAM, November 24 -  

HÀ NỘI — National Assembly Chairman Vương Đình Huệ on November 23 held talks with President of the Philippine Senate Juan Miguel Zubiri right after the Senate of the Philippines had passed a resolution on further strengthening the parliamentary relations between the two nations.

The Vietnamese top legislator expressed his belief that under the leadership of the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Philippines will become more prosperous and its role and position will rise in the region and the world. 

He expressed his appreciation for the approval of the resolution, describing it as a historic event in the bilateral relationship as well as the relations between the two countries’ parliaments.

Zubiri said NA Chairman Huệ’s official visit to the Philippines contributes positively to further strengthening the strategic partnership between Việt Nam and the Philippines as well as between their legislative bodies, highlighting Việt Nam is the only strategic partner of the Philippines in ASEAN. 

He thanked Việt Nam for always being a stable rice supplier for his country to help it ensure food security, expressing his hope that more products of the Philippines will be exported to Việt Nam to keep a trade balance. 

The two officials spoke highly of the cooperative relationship between the two legislative bodies, both bilaterally and multilaterally, affirming the central role of parliamentary cooperation in promoting multilateral and bilateral relations between countries.

They agreed to continuously maintain the exchange of delegations between the two legislative bodies, and the experience sharing between the committees on legislative and supervision works; and enhance consultation, coordination and mutual support at multilateral cooperation mechanisms.

For multilateral cooperation, the two sides emphasised the need to actively coordinate to strengthen ASEAN's solidarity, stance and central role in dealing with traditional and non-traditional security challenges, including maritime security, disaster prevention, and response to climate change. 

Regarding the East Sea, the Vietnamese top legislator suggested the two countries uphold ASEAN's stance, effectively implement the Declaration of the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and push towards concluding a Code of Conduct (COC) on the basis of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The officials said trade is currently a bright spot in the bilateral relations and agreed to continue taking defence-security cooperation as a pillar in the bilateral relations, and to further expand investment and cooperation.

At the talks, Philippine senators also mentioned the possibility of cooperation and sharing of experience between the two countries in areas of maritime security, climate change, and disaster prevention. — VNS