Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Phu Trong said his upcoming visits to four European nations are aimed at further fostering traditional friendship and promoting potentials for cooperation between Vietnam and the countries.
Chairman Trong will pay official friendly visits to Hungary , Rumania , Bulgaria and France from June 15-26. In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency on June 14, the legislative leader said: “There will be various meetings, exchanges and trade and investment promotion activities between Vietnamese and European businesses during the visits.

” Vietnam and the four European countries have specific potentials and strengths that can complement and support each other, Chairman Trong said. “For Vietnam , the European nations have strengths in high-technology industries, such as shipbuilding, oil and gas, mechanical engineering, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, biotechnology, education and health care.” “Vice versa, with a population of more than 80 million and a dynamic economy, Vietnam is a big market and an attractive destination for European investors.”
During the visits, the chairman said, the Vietnamese legislature and those of the four European countries will discuss measures to boost exchange and cooperation, and share experiences in legislation.
 “Many cooperative agreements between the Vietnamese National Assembly and the European legislative bodies will be signed on this occasion, aimed at creating a legal foundation for the expansion of parliamentary cooperation channel for Vietnam and the four European nations,” he said.

According to the legislative leader, the visits are expected to help further implement the Party and the State’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, cooperation, development, openness, diversification and multilateralisation.
The visits will be chances for all sides to discuss measures to further boost ties, particularly in legislation, at a time when the Vietnamese National Assembly was newly elected to the management board of the Inter-Parliamentary Union that boats more than 150 members, including Hungary , Rumania , Bulgaria and France.
Diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Hungary , Rumania and Bulgaria were officially set up nearly 60 years ago.
At present, despite different situations in each country, Vietnamese people’s sentiments toward the European countries have always been fine, the legislative leader said.

The Vietnam-France relations have been developed efficiently in many areas 35 years after the two countries set up diplomatic ties at the ambassador level.
 The two sides usually exchanges high-level delegations and have agreed upon the motto “traditional friendship, comprehensive, long-term and reliable cooperation in the 21 st century,” chairman Trong said.
Promotion of relations between Vietnam and the four European countries is very important for strengthening relations between the ASEAN and the EU, according to Chairman Trong.
The traditional friends in Europe will help Vietnam enter the large European market, which has great potential in capital, technologies and development experiences, Trong said.
 Through Vietnam , he added, these countries will also easily enter the Southeast Asia and Asia , a region seeing dynamic development. Though having different conditions, characteristics, histories and being at different development levels, the ASEAN and EU are both necessary and effective regional cooperation institutions.

Besides, promoted cooperation and experience exchange between Asia and Europe within the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and the Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership Meeting (ASEP) will contribute to peace, stability, cooperation and sustainable development in the world, Chairman Trong noted.
He said that on the basis of the existing fine tradition, potential, strengths, desires and efforts of each side, Vietnam ’s cooperative ties with the four countries would certainly see a new step of development in both bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the interest of each country as well as for development in the two regions and the world.