Hanoi (VNA) – National Assembly (NA)Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan hosted a reception in Hanoi on January 7 forVice President of the European Parliament (EP) Heidi Hautala.

The Vietnamese top legislator thankedHautala for her positive contributions to promoting the Vietnam-European Union(EU) relationship, as well as the partnership between the Vietnamese NA and theEP.

She noted that the relationship between Vietnamand the EU has been growing in all fields, especially trade and investment.

The EU is now the fourth largest tradepartner and the second biggest export market of Vietnam, as well as the fifthlargest investor in the Southeast Asian country, Ngan said.

The NA leader briefed her guest on Vietnam’ssocio-economic performances in 2018, including GDP growth of 7.08 percent. TheVietnamese NA ratified the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement forTrans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) last year, creating an important foundationfor Vietnam to continue its intensive international integration and a newmomentum for national development, she stressed.

For her part, Hautala said that during hervisit, she had worked with leaders of the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment and other relevant agencies on the implementation of the VoluntaryPartnership Agreement on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance, and Trade(VPA/FLEGT) between the EU and Vietnam.

The two sides agreed on specific contents tobe conducted in the coming time, she said, adding that the EP is working toensure the prompt realisation of the deal.

Stressing that Vietnam is an important import-exportpartner of the EU, Hautala said that the EU has paid great attention tosustainability and product origin, which is included in the VPA/FLEGT.

The EP Vice President notedthat in 2018, the NA of Vietnam actively coordinated with theInter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) to hold activities related to the UNsustainable development goals and the role of the parliament in reaching thegoals through the application of a self-evaluation tool.

Together with bilateral cooperationmechanisms, the EP wants to set up collaboration mechanisms with other ASEAN countries’parliaments, said Hautala.

Ngan showed her support forthe idea, pledging that Vietnam is willing to assist in the formation of suchmechanisms.

The Vietnamese NA leader expressed her hopethat the EP will soon ratify the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA),vowing that Vietnam is willing to listen to the opinions of European economicpolicymakers and enterprises for the effective implementation of the deal,which, she said will create close connections between the EU and the regions ofSoutheast Asia and the Asia-Pacific.

The Vietnamese NA is working to complete thelegal corridor to improve the investment and business environment, thus ensuringthe stable, long-term, and effective operation of foreign investors, includingthose from Europe, she said.

The NA will work with the Government toinstitutionalise the regulations of the EVFTA, asking the latter to submit itsfinal report for the consideration of the agreement’s approval, Ngan said.

The top legislator affirmed that as a responsibleand active member of many multilateral cooperation forums and many newgeneration free trade agreements, Vietnam will strictly implement itscommitments in line with regulations stipulated in these mechanisms.

In order to institutionalize and effectivelycarry out the VPA/FLEGT, which Vietnam signed inOctober 2018, Vietnam will soon build a decree to control the import of wood,as well as regulations related to Vietnam's timber legality assurance system (VNTLAS) she said.

The Vietnamese NA leaderexpressed her hope that Vietnam and the EU will soon approve the VPA/FLEGT to facilitate wood and wooden furniture tradingbetween the two sides and contribute to hastening the approval of the EVFTA.–VNA