Hanoi (VNA) - State President Luong Cuong on November 20 hosted a reception for President of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia Alen Simonyan who is on an official visit to Vietnam at the invitation of NA Chairman Tran Thanh Man.

Cuong highly evaluated the achievements Armenia has made in the cause of national development, continuously improving living conditions of the people and enhancing the country's position on the international arena. He also stressed the important contributions of the Armenian NA in performing its legislative role and ensuring the legal framework for the nation's development.

Vietnam and Armenia have made significant efforts to maintain and develop their traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation, Cuong said, reaffirming that Vietnam always treasures its relationship with Armenia.

Briefing the guest on Vietnam's socio-economic development situation, Cuong said that under the Party's leadership, after nearly 40 years of reform, Vietnam has gone from a country devastated by war with very low per capita income, the nation has now ranked 35th in the world's top 35 economies and among the world's top 20 economies in terms of international trade. To achieve these results, in addition to Vietnam's efforts, there is also the support and help of international friends, including Armenia, he said.

The State President spoke highly of the results of the talks between the two countries’ top legislators, expressing his hope that the two legislative bodies will continue working together to create a legal framework that facilitates efforts to promote bilateral cooperation, meeting the common interests of both countries and contributing to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.

In addition to political relations being the mainstay of the bilateral ties, economic, trade, and investment cooperation has witnessed positive development steps in recent years, with two-way trade hitting over 400 million USD in the first months of 2024, the host said.

He urged the two sides to increase exchanges and visits at all levels and channels to strengthen political trust; boost economic, trade, investment, and tourism cooperation; and people-to-people and culture exchanges; enhance ties between their localities; expand cooperation in new areas; and continue to coordinate and support each other in international organisations and multilateral forums, especially the UN and the International Organisation of La Francophonie.

The Vietnamese leader said he believed that the ongoing visit will be an important milestone, contributing to promoting the bilateral relations between the two nations as well as their legislative bodies in the time to come.

Cuong took this occasion to ask Simonyan to convey his invitation to Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan to visit Vietnam at an appropriate time.

For his part, Simonyan affirmed that Armenia always considers Vietnam an important partner in the region, stating that the visit presents an opportunity to continue discussions with the Vietnamese side to explore ways to further deepen all-around cooperation.

He showed his impression of the dynamic economic development of Vietnam, saying that the two countries have always supported each other at international forums.

🐼 The guest hoped that the two countries will establish new cooperation mechanisms, particularly in trade and investment, as both nations are members of international trade organisations./.