Minsk (VNA) – Vietnam and Belarus should work together to lift the two-way trade to 500 million USDto match both sides’ potential and desire, said National Assembly ChairwomanNguyen Thi Kim Ngan during talks with Chairwoman of the Council of the National Assembly of Belarus NatalyaKochanova in Minsk on December 12.

Ngan is on herfirst official visit to Belarus from December 12 – 14.

The Chairwomanof the Council of the National Assembly of Belarus said the Vietnamesetop legislator’s visit will take thetwo countries’ long-standing friendship and multi-faceted cooperation to thenext level.

The level ofmutual trade between the two nations does not correspond to their potential  so the two sides need to further bolster cooperation in this area,Kochanova continued, saying the Belarusian NA will do it best to reinforce theties between the two parliaments and countries.

The Vietnamesetop legislator, for her part, said Vietnam always treasures the friendlyrelations with Belarus, which date back to the times of the Soviet Union.

She welcomedcooperation between cities and provinces from both sides, citing Hanoi, Ho ChiMinh City, Quang Ninh andMinsk, Da Nang and Grosno, and Lao Cai and Brest as examples. She expected thetwo legislatures will together urge these localities to work out specific plansand cooperation programmes in the near future.

Sharing Kochanova’s view on the modest bilateral economic and trade cooperation, Ngansaid the two nations must strive to lift the two-way trade to 500 million USDin the coming time. She suggested the two sides to give priority to areas whereVietnam’s advantages match Belarus’ demands, such as textile and garment, wood, fishery, pharmaceuticals,computers and rice, and boosttrade of agricultural products that they can complement each other.

The two sidesshould also seek new opportunities for cooperation, make the most of the Vietnam – Eurasian Economic Union(EAEU) Free Trade Agreement and promote the popularisation of the FTA amongtheir business communities, she added.

She highly spoke of Belarusas a traditional and trustworthy partner in defence and security ofVietnam, proposing the two sidescontinue maintaining effective cooperation, delegation exchanges andimplementation of the Vietnam – Belarus military-technical cooperation for 2016– 2020, and complete legal framework for partnership in security.

She went on toemphasise Vietnam’s consistent stance on the East Sea that all disputes must besettled by peaceful measures, in line with international law, including the UNCharter and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Allconcerned parties must fully and effectively implement theDeclaration on Conduct of the Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and soon concludethe Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC), she said.

Vietnam hopesBelarus will continue supporting the peaceful settlement of maritimedisputes in the East Sea, sheadded.

The Belarusian NAspeaker said Belarus will always back Vietnam at multilateral forums on the basis of mutual benefits and the two countries’ traditional friendship.

Both leadersappreciated the operation of the Vietnam – Belarus inter-governmental committeeon economics, trade, science and technology.

Belarus seesVietnam as a strategic partner and a springboard for increasing its economicpresence in the Southeast Asia, Kochanova said.

Both sides agreedthat they need to help joint ventures of the two countries gain a broaderaccess to Asian and European markets and that a Belarus Day will be held inVietnam in 2021.

Kochanovaaffirmed the Belarusian NA attaches importance to ties with the Vietnamese NA,adding that a friendshipparliamentarians’ group with Vietnam will be set up in the coming time.

To furtherenhance ties between the two legislatures, the two leaders agreed to increaseexchanges of high-level delegations, committees and friendly parliamentarians’groups to boost mutual understanding and trust; continue effectivelyimplementing the two sides’ agreement signed in April 2009 and promoting close coordination at multilateralforums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU); and jointly review andsupervise the enforcement of agreements reached by the two countries’governments and ministries./.