Ngan’s participation in the MSEAP3 and her official visit to Turkey are made at the invitation of co-founders of the MSEAP Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation V. Volodin and Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea Moon Hee-sang; and of Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Binali Yildirim, respectively.
Vietnam’s active, proactive and responsible engagement in multilateral parliamentary diplomacy
The MSEAP, a parliamentary cooperation mechanism in Eurasia, was initiated by the Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea. It is organized annually to boost action coordination of Eurasian legislative bodies and to enhance the role of parliamentary diplomacy.
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NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (R) receives Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim during his visit to Vietnam. |
The final document of the MSEAP is the joint statement signed by head delegates to the meeting.
The first MSEAP was hosted by Russia in 2016 and the second took place in the Republic of Korea in 2017.
The two previous meetings issued a quite comprehensive agenda. These meetings also served as venue for high-level bilateral meetings and contributed to promoting parliamentary diplomatic ties among participating countries. Therefore, the MSEAP has become attractive to parliaments of Eurasian states. As many as 24 Eurasian parliaments sent delegations to the previous meeting.
The theme of the MSEAP1 was “Intercontinental cooperation for joint prosperity of Eurasian countries in the 21st century” while the MSEAP2 was themed “Promotion of inter-parliamentary cooperation for common prosperity in the Eurasian region.” At the two previous meetings, the Vietnamese NA delegation, led by Deputy NA Chairman Uong Chu Luu, conveyed a message that Vietnam is willing to support all inter-regional cooperation initiatives in order to share experience and resources for common development. The NA of Vietnam also wants to continue to further its cooperation and relationship with other Eurasian states’ parliaments with the aim of perfecting the legal system and promoting its role as the supreme representative of the people.
Attentively, the Vietnamese delegation’s initiatives and proposals actively contributed to the success of the two previous meetings.
The participation of the Vietnamese NA delegation, led by its Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, in the MSEAP3 has reconfirmed Vietnam’s commitment to actively, proactively and responsibly getting involved in multilateral parliamentary diplomacy, and supporting cooperative activities of Eurasian states’ parliaments to contribute to the maintenance of peace, security and prosperity in the world.
It also displays the Vietnamese NA’s support for the Turkey’s parliament and its belief in the Turkish parliament’s successful organization of the MSEAP3.
First-ever official visit to Turkey of a Vietnamese top legislator
Right after the MSEAP3, the NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan will start her official visit to Turkey at the invitation of the Speaker of Turkey’s Grand National Assembly Binali Yildirim.
Vietnam and Turkey established diplomatic ties on June 7, 1978. Since then, the two countries’ friendship and cooperation have developed fruitfully on the basis of mutual political trust.
The two sides have had regular exchanges of delegations at all levels, supported each other at multilateral forums. Besides, the two countries have enjoyed positive developments in economic, trade, cultural cooperation and people-to-people exchange.
Turkey is a Vietnam’s leading trade partner in the Middle East. Last year, the two-way trade turnover reached over USD 2.1 billion, including USD 1.9 billion in Vietnam’s exports to Turkey.
In the first six months of this year, the two-way trade turnover was USD 970 million with USD 843 million in Vietnam’s exports to Turkey.
Turkey also serves as a gateway for Vietnam’s typical products, such as rice, rubber, tea, textiles-garment, footwear, electronic equipment, and handicrafts, to penetrate into markets of the Middle East and EU.
Currently, Turkey runs 15 investment projects in Vietnam with the total registered capital of USD 704 million, ranking the 26th out of 126 countries and territories investing in the country.
This is the first time the Vietnamese NA Chairwoman has officially visited Turkey and it has also been the highest visit of the Vietnamese Party and State leadership to the country.
This important visit aims to reinforce Vietnam’s friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Turkey, especially in the context that the two countries are celebrating the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties this year. It is seen as a new hallmark in the development of the friendship and cooperation between the two countries in general and the two legislative bodies in particular.
Written by the Editorial Board
Translated by Mai Huong