Oslo (VNA) – Vice President Vo ThiAnh Xuan had a meeting with Crown Prince of Norway Haakon Magnus in Oslo onNovember 23 (local time) as part of her ongoing visit to the northern European country.

Highlighting the growth of the Vietnam-Norwayrelations in all fields, Vice President Xuan said that the two sides should maintainhigh-level visits to strengthen political trust and enhance the effectiveness of bilateral cooperation.

She proposed that the two sides should build legalframeworks to create foundation for bilateral relations, while expandingcollaboration in new areas such as culture, education-training,science-technology and people-to-people exchange, and strengthening coordinationand mutual support at regional and international forums.   
         
The Vietnamese Vice President said she hopes Norway willhelp speed up the negotiation for a free trade agreement between Vietnam andthe European Free Trade Association (EFTA), and support Vietnam to implementits commitment within the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP).

For his part, Crown Prince Haakon Magnus recalled his strongimpression when seeing the great changes in Vietnam during a visit to Vietnam in2014, and affirmed that Vietnam is an important partner of Norway.

He showed concern about the climate change impact on theMekong Delta and pledged that the Royal Family and the Government of Norwaywill continue to support Vietnam in responding to climate change, promotinggreen transition and developing renewable energy.

The Crown Prince highly valued Vietnam’scommitments made at international forums on green transition, especially thenet-zero emission commitment by 2050. He pledged that Norway will cooperatewith and support Vietnam in realising these commitments.

On the occasion, Vice President Xuan extended President VoVan Thuong’s invitation to King Harald V to visit Vietnam, and invited theCrown Prince and Princess to visit Vietnam again in 2024.  

The same day, Xuan held talks with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store todiscuss cooperation orientations and measures to bolster and deepen thefriendship and partnership between Vietnam and Norway.

The Norwegian PM said that the Vietnamese Vice President’svisit reflects the strong commitment of the two countries to promoting thebilateral ties. He said he is impressed by Vietnam’s achievements inimplementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially those on poverty reductionand gender equality.
PM Store congratulated Vietnam on its election to theUN Human Right Council for the second time, and expressed hope to cooperateclosely with Vietnam in this field.     
         
Xuan affirmed that Vietnam highly values the effective and precious supportthat the Government and people of Norway have given to Vietnam over the years, helpingVietnam promote socio-economic development and complete Millennium DevelopmentGoals.

The two sides agreed on the need to maintain the exchange ofdelegations at all levels, especially high level, and consider the possibilityof establishing a strategic partnership framework in areas matching each other’sstrengths and demands. They concurred to continue supporting each other atmultilateral forums and in settling global challenges.

Regarding economic cooperation, the two sides noted theprogress in bilateral trade and investment partnership, with Vietnam becomingthe second largest trade partner of Norway among ASEAN member countries.

The two sides agreed to support and encourage Norwegianbusinesses to increase investment in Vietnam, and coordinate with each other inpromoting the negotiation of the FTA between Vietnam and the EFTA, thus openingup new economic cooperation opportunities between the two sides and benefitingenterprises of the two countries.

They vowed to strengthen collaboration within the JETP frameworkthrough support in finance, technology transfer, human resources developmentand institution building experience sharing.

The Norwegian PM expressed his hope to form strategiccooperation mechanisms in specific areas such as green transition, circulareconomy and green economy.      
        
The two leaders agreed on the necessity to expandcooperation in the fields of education-training, science-technology, socialwelfare, climate change, security, defence, and people-to-people exchange.

PM Store affirmed that the Norwegian Government will continueto create favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community in the country.

Regarding international and regional issues, the two leadersagreed that the two sides will continue to work closely with each other at regional andinternational forums, especially the UN and the ASEAN-EU cooperation framework,contributing to maintaining peace and stability in the region and the world onthe basis of respect for international law and fundamental principles of the UNCharter.

Xuan conveyed Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s invitation toPM Store to visit Vietnam.

Also on November 23, Vice President Xuan had a meeting with President of theNorwegian Parliament Masud Gharahkhani who hailed Vietnam’s positive engagementin dealing with global challenges, especially those in climate change with thecommitment to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

Xuan proposed that the Norwegian Parliament support theestablishment of legal frameworks facilitating bilateral cooperation in areas matching each other’s strengths and demands such as green transition, climate changeand circular economy.

The Vietnamese Vice President said she hopes Norway will helpspeed up the signing of a FTA between Vietnam and the EFTA, and provide Vietnamwith financial resources and institution building experience, and human resources training support to realise the country’s international commitments,especially those made at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference(COP26) and within the JETP framework.

The Norwegian parliament leader agreed with Xuanon the need to beef up cooperation to optimise each other’s advantages and potential, saying that the Norwegian Parliament supports collaboration with Vietnam in greentransition and creates favourable conditions for Norwegian firms to strengthen partnership withVietnamese peers.

The legislatures of Vietnam and Norway should strengthen theexchange of delegations and experience in building policies and laws to dealwith challenges in socio-economic development in each country, he said.  

On the occasion, Vice President Xuan conveyed an invitationfrom Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue to the NorwegianParliament President to visit Vietnam.

Earlier the same day, Vice President Xuan received NorwegianMinister of Culture and Equality LubnaJaffery who underlined that Norway and Vietnam share the same commitment topromoting gender equality.

The minister expressed hope that the two countries will strengthencooperation in this field and continue to effectively coordinate with eachother in this area at multilateral forums, especially the UN./.