Yerevan (VNA) – Vietnam always values its long-standing traditional friendship with Armenia over the past decades, visiting National Ass🍎embly (NA) Chairman Tran Thanh Man told President of the National Assembly of Armenia Alen Simonyan during their talks held right after a welcome ceremony in Yerevan capital city on April 3 (local time).

Recalling the significance of President Ho Chi Minh’s visit to Armenia in July 1959, Man noted that his visit, combined with the Armenian NA President’s trip to Vietnam in November 2024, would serve as a driving force to further tighten friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

Highlighting Armenia’s growing role on the global stage, Man shared Vietnam’s key socio-economic achievements in 2024 and outlined major priorities for 2025. He expressed a strong desire to deepen collaboration across all sectors and channels, including Party, State, Government, National Assembly, and people-to-people exchange. Man announced with satisfaction the establishment of the Vietnam-Armenia Friendship Parliamentary Group under the Vietnamese NA. He expressed confidence that the activities of this group, alongside its Armenia-Vietnam counterpart, would enhance exchanges and cooperation, serving as a vital bridge to boost ties between the two nations and their legislative bodies. In response, Simonyan underscored Armenia’s high regard for Vietnam, not only as a friend but also as a key economic and trade partner in the region. With Armenia set to host the UN Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17) in 2026, he expressed his hope that Vietnam would send a high-ranking delegation to the event. Both leaders hailed the signing of a cooperation agreement between their legislatures during the visit, which provides a legal framework to bolster bilateral ties in the years ahead. They agreed to increase high-level parliamentary delegation exchanges and promote collaboration between parliamentary agencies, friendship parliamentary groups, young and female parliamentarians, and lawmakers. Specifically, they will increase the sharing of information and experience between specialised committees and lawmakers, especially in legislation and supervision. They will also enhance monitoring to ensure the effective implementation of bilateral and multilateral cooperation agreements signed or joined by their Governments, especially those fostering economic and trade ties. The legislative leaders acknowledged the growth in bilateral economic and trade relations in recent years, particularly since the Vietnam-Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) Free Trade Agreement (FTA) took effect in 2016. In 2024, two-way trade approached 500 million USD. Man urged Armenia to facilitate Vietnamese businesses’ access to Armenian and EAEU markets, leveraging the Vietnam-EAEU FTA, of which Armenia is a member. He stressed the importance of updating policy and market information, simplifying enterprise involvement in trade and investment promotion activities, thematic fairs, and international exhibitions in both countries. He also proposed addressing challenges faced by businesses investing in each other’s markets by exchanging lists of goods in demand early, aiming to diversify bilateral trade. Recognising the vast cooperation potential across culture, tourism, education-training, transportation, locality-to-locality and people-to-people exchanges, they vowed to harness localities' strengths to enhance overall bilateral coordination. On the occasion, the Vietnamese leader urged Armenia to facilitate cultural exchange and promotion activities that showcase the cultural and historical values of both nations, contributing to raising mutual understanding among younger generations and strengthening the friendship between their people. He also proposed that Armenia consider establishing an Armenia-Vietnam Friendship Association.

Regarding international and regional cooperation, the two leaders pledged to maintain regular exchanges, consultations, and mutual support at multilateral parliamentary forums and on global and regional issues of common interest. They reaffirmed their commitment to making proactive and responsible contributions to peace and stability in the region and the world. As an active member of ASEAN and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), Vietnam stands ready to act as a bridge to help Armenia expand ties with ASEAN, AIPA, and other member parliaments, Man noted. He suggested effective collaboration at regional forums, support for ASEAN's and Vietnam’s stance on the East Sea issue, and the peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with international law, the UN Charter, and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Following the talks, Man and Simonyan signed a cooperation agreement between the two legislatures./.