Hanoi (VNA) – The officialvisit to the UK from June 28 - 30 by National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong DinhHue is the first trip to this European country by a parliamentary leader of Vietnam in11 years, expected to help enhance political trust and cooperation between thetwo parliaments as well as their countries’ multifaceted relations.

The visit will be made at theinvitation of Lord Speaker of the House of Lords John McFall and Speaker of theHouse of Commons Lindsay Hoyle.

The parliaments of Vietnamand the UK have recorded cooperationstrides in the recent past.

They have maintained delegationexchanges at all levels, including the visits by Vietnam’s NA Chairman Nong DucManh in 1994, Nguyen Van An in March 2005 and Nguyen Sinh Hung in December 2011,and the trip by Deputy Speaker of the UK House of Commons Eleanor Laing inOctober 2016.

The two sides have alsofrequently held mutual visits between their parliaments’ committees, and by theBritish All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Vietnam and the Vietnam - UK ParliamentaryFriendship Group.

Most recently, an NAdelegation led by Chairman of the Committee for Science, Technology and the EnvironmentLe Quang Huy attended the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)’s pre-COP26parliamentary meeting and met with the head of the British parliamentarydelegation there. On October 2020, the Communist Party of Vietnam and the APPGheld the first virtual dialogue on cooperation for developing a post-COVID-19green economy.

Both sides have alsomaintained contact and consultation at multilateral parliamentary forums,particularly the IPU and the Asia - Europe Parliamentary Partnership (ASEP)meetings.

The fruitful cooperationbetween the two parliaments is believed to be an important factor in fosteringthe Vietnam - UK strategic partnership.

Vu Hai Ha, Chairman of the NA’sCommittee for External Relations, said the visit by the high-ranking NAdelegation led by Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue aims to continue implementing theforeign policy set at the 13th National Party Congress, intensifybilateral cooperation, strengthen mutual trust with partner countries, andaffirm the importance Vietnam attaches to the strategic partnership with theUK.

It also looks to promote theimplementation of the UK - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) and create anew impulse for the countries’ relations in politics - diplomacy, economy -trade, security - defence, education - training, climate change response, andother potential areas.

The delegation’s meetingswith officials, enterprises, and the Vietnamese community in the UK are alsohoped to help attract more resources for post-pandemic socio-economic recoveryand development, Ha noted.

He added as part of thevisit, a forum on educational cooperation will also be held with theparticipation of leading universities, businesses, and organisations from bothcountries in order to bolster collaboration in education - training, particularlytraining high-quality human resources to help with Vietnam’s development and internationalintegration.

For his part, UK Ambassadorto Vietnam Gareth Ward said the countries’ strategic partnership is solid, andmuch room remains for them to expand ties.

He added that the visit by Chairman VuongDinh Hue will help fuel parliamentary cooperation./.