Hanoi (VNA)𒆙 –National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue on April 16 said that Vietnamalways values and wishes to strengthen multifaceted cooperation with Hungary, atraditional partner and the only comprehensive partner of Vietnam in theCentral Eastern European region when receiving First Officer of the HungarianNational Assembly Márta Mátrai in Hanoi.

Speaking at the reception,Hue appreciated the fifth legislative conference on the role of the parliament in supreme supervision of bilateral cooperation agreements between Vietnam and Hungaryheld earlier the same day in Hanoi, during which, NA Vice Chairman Tran QuangPhuong and Márta Mátrai reached consensus on many important issues, particularly those on cooperation between the two countries’ legislatures. For her part, theHungarian guest said Hungary considersVietnam a priority partner in its policy of strengthening and expandingrelations with Southeast Asian countries, especially in the fields ofdiplomacy, economy, and parliamentary cooperation. Hungary is abridge between EU member countries and Vietnam, she said, adding her country is ready to share experience with Vietnam in agriculture, science, and digitalisation. Noting that Hungarywill take on the role of rotating President of the European Council in thesecond half of 2024, she affirmed Hungary will help hasten other EUmember countries to ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement(EVIPA) and urge the European Commission to soon remove the “yellow card” imposed on Vietnam regarding illegal, unreported and unregulated(IUU) fishing and other problems in the EU-Vietnam trade ties. Hue said that the twocountries have good cooperative relations in many fields and that there isstill ample room for cooperation, particularly in science and technology,innovation, education, and sports. The host and the guestagreed that the two sides need to strengthen cooperation and connections atcentral, local, and business levels. Their friendship parliamentarians' groups should establish an alumni network andpropose initiatives to further develop the two countries’ relations. Hueagreed on the theme of the next legislative conference, which willbe held alternately in Hungary in 2025. On this occasion, he thanked Hungary for providing scholarships to Vietnamese students and hopedthat it will continue to create favourable conditions for the Vietnamesecommunity to stabilise their lives and make positivecontributions to the host country’s socio-economic development andVietnam-Hungary friendship. The same day, Márta Mátrai met with Chairman ofthe NA's Economic Committee Vu Hong Thanh, who is alsoChairman of the Vietnam - Hungary Friendship Parliamentarians'  Group. Thanh saidit is necessary to promote cooperation mechanisms between the two countries,especially the Vietnam - Hungary Joint Committee on Economic Cooperation tofacilitate bilateral economic, trade, and investment ties. He hoped that Hungarianbusinesses will increase investment in areas that Vietnam has demand for andHungary has strengths such as water resources exploitation, environmentalprotection, pharmaceuticals, livestock, food processing, renewable energy,manufacturing and processing industries, and infrastructure development. He wished that Hungarywill support and create favourable conditions for Vietnamese businesses tofurther access its market. Meanwhile, Vietnam isready to act as a gateway for Hungarian products to enter the ASEAN market, he added./.