Opinions & Interviews

Kochanova: Belarus views Vietnam as strategic partner in Southeast Asia

MINSK, 12 December (BelTA) - Belarus views Vietnam as a strategic partner in the Southeast Asia region, said Chairwoman of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly Natalya Kochanova said as she met with a Vietnamese parliamentary delegation headed by Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan in Minsk on 12 December, BelTA has learned.

“Belarus also sees Vietnam as a springboard for increasing its economic presence in the Southeast Asia region. However, the level of mutual trade between the countries does not correspond to the potential. We need to bolster trade and bring economic cooperation to the level of political cooperation,” said Natalya Kochanova.

According to her, it is a great honor for the Belarusian Parliament to receive such a representative delegation from Vietnam. “The friendly relations between the Belarusian and Vietnamese peoples, which date back to the times of the Soviet Union, have never been interrupted. They are reaching a qualitatively new level on the back of comprehensive and progressive development. Belarus is closely monitoring the progress in Vietnam's social and economic development, improvement of living standards, and the country's growing authority in the international arena. These important achievements create good prerequisites for new joint projects, new foreign political and economic initiatives,” Natalya Kochanova noted.

The speaker stressed that the two countries have fostered a high level of interstate relations, which have been developing rapidly. “We pay special attention to inter-parliamentary cooperation, which plays an important role in the Belarusian-Vietnamese relations. I suggest we intensify these contacts and arrange meetings between MPs on a regular basis. In the near future we plan to set up a friendship group in the parliament,” she added

The chairwoman of the Council of the Republic expressed confidence that this visit would be an important stage in the consistent development of bilateral relations. “The Belarusian parliament is ready to contribute to the development of interaction between our countries and fill the Belarusian-Vietnamese relations with new content," Natalya Kochanova said.

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