Vietnamese, Turkish top legislators hold talks

At the talks, Ngan congratulated Turkey on the successful organization of the third Meeting of Speakers of Eurasian Countries' Parliaments, saying the hosting demonstrates increased position of Turkey as well as its legislature in the region and the world at large. Speaking highly of Turkey's successful holding of the presidential and parliamentary elections last June, the Vietnamese top legislator expressed her hope that with his experience in the political sphere, Binali Yildirim will lead the Grand National Assembly to complete tasks assigned by Turkish people and voters. Yildirim said Ngan's visit to Turkey is special as it takes place on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries. Speaking of Asia-Pacific, he stressed that Turkey attaches importance to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The host highlighted the fruitful development of the political bonds between Vietnam and Turkey and suggested the two countries also develop legislative ties apart from relations between Governments. He said the friendship parliamentarians' groups of the two countries play an important role in promoting the legislative ties. Welcoming the two governments' coordination in implementing several agreements signed during his official visit to Vietnam as the Prime Minister of Turkey 14 months ago, Speaker Yildirim said trade between the two countries is thriving, but unbalanced. Therefore, he stressed the need to carry out some projects to improve the situation while expressing his belief in the realisation of the bringing the bilateral trade value to 4 billion USD by the end of 2020. NA Chairwoman Ngan affirmed Vietnam's foreign policy of standing ready to be a friend and a reliable partner of all the countries in the world community, stressing that the country's international integration continues to be promoted and has obtained important outcomes. Vietnam successfully organised the APEC Year in 2017 and the 26th Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF 26) early 2018, and the World Economic Forum (WEF) on ASEAN 2018 (WEF ASEAN 2018) recently. On the two countries' bilateral relationship, Ngan expressed her pleasure with the sound development of the Vietnam-Turkey friendship and cooperation over the past 40 years. Vietnam always attaches importance to consolidating and developing friendship and multi-faceted cooperation with countries in South Europe and the Middle East, including Turkey - a leading economic partner of Vietnam in the region, she said. In 2018, the two countries have organised various activities to mark the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties. She thanked Turkey for its commitment to backing Vietnam's run for a non-permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council for the 2020-2021 term, and wished Turkey would continue supporting Vietnam at regional and international forums. She affirmed Vietnam welcomes and stands ready to serve as a bridge to promote ties between Turkey and ASEAN. The Vietnamese NA Chairwoman suggested both sides enhance delegation exchanges at all levels to bolster solidarity and mutual understanding of the two peoples. Also, she asked Turkey to soon recognise Vietnam as a market economy and remove protectionism measures and anti-dumping duties on Vietnamese exports. At the talks, both sides discussed global and regional issues of mutual interest, including the East Sea issues. They agreed that maintaining peace, stability, security and aviation and navigation safety in the waters is of mutual benefit of all countries. The Speaker of Turkish Grand National Assembly affirmed that he supported the settlement of disputes in the East Sea by peaceful means which are in line with the international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). NA Chairwoman Ngan took the occasion to invite her Turkish counterpart to pay an official visit to Vietnam. The same day in Ankara, NA Chairwoman Ngan and the Vietnamese delegation laid a wreath of flowers at the tomb of Kemal Mustafa Ataturk, the first President of Turkey.

(Source: VNA)