Vietnamese, Cambodian top legislators hold talks in Hà Nội

NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue welcomes Cambodian NA President Samdech Moha Rathsapheathika Thipadei Khuon Sudary. VNA/VNS Photo Doãn Tấn

HÀ NỘI – National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vương Đình Huệ held talks with his Cambodian counterpart Samdech Khuon Sudary after an official welcome ceremony for the Cambodian NA leader in Hà Nội on December 1.

Noting that the official visit to Việt Nam from November 30 to December 2 is her first foreign trip as the President of the Cambodian NA, Samdech Khuon Sudary stressed that the visit demonstrates the importance that Cambodia attaches to its neighbourliness and traditional friendship with Việt Nam as well as the relations between the two legislative bodies.  

Welcoming the Cambodian NA delegation, Huệ congratulated Samdech Khuon Sudary on being elected as Cambodia’s first female top legislator.

He affirmed that the Party, State and people of Việt Nam always support Cambodia to continue gaining new, more significant and more comprehensive achievements in developing the country, successfully implementing the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP)’s political platform for the 2023-2028 period and the Pentagonal Strategy-Phase 1, which aim to turn Cambodia into an upper middle-income country by 2030 and a high income country by 2050.

Emphasising that this is Cambodia’s very high political determination, he expressed his belief that with Cambodia’s efforts, the cooperation and solidarity between the three countries of Cambodia, Laos and Việt Nam, and with the help of the international community, Cambodia will achieve its set goals.

The NA Chairman said that Việt Nam always considers the achievements of the Cambodian People’s Party, State and people a source of great encouragement for Việt Nam and the accomplishments of Việt Nam itself.

The Vietnamese top legislator thanked Cambodia’s help in the search for and repatriation of the remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts who died in Cambodia, and proposed Cambodia continue to coordinate with and support Việt Nam in the work, as well as in the embellishment, management and protection of the Cambodia – Việt Nam Friendship Monuments in Cambodia. Samdech Khuon Sudary agreed to the proposal, expressing her belief that this will continue to be carried out effectively.

Hue also took the occasion to suggest Cambodia continue creating favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community living and working in the country.

In response, the Cambodian NA leader affirmed that Cambodia always cares for and provides support for foreigners living in Cambodia, including Vietnamese people. For Cambodians of Vietnamese origin who still lack legal documents, Cambodia will continue to assist them through laws related to civil affairs, she added.

The two top legislators shared the view that the two countries should promote cooperation in education and training, people-to-people exchanges, transportation and tourism; closely coordinate in managing the shared borderline to ensure security and safety and fight crime; continue to accelerate the progress of border demarcation and marker planting on the remaining 16 per cent of the border; and increase consultation and support each other’s stances at multilateral international forums.

Regarding parliamentary cooperation, they agreed that the two sides will maintain close collaboration in building and perfecting institutions and legal systems to maintain political stability, ensure national defence and security and socio-economic development, enhance the international position of each country as well as preserve and develop the relationship between Việt Nam and Cambodia. 

The two sides will maintain the mechanism of the Summit of the three National Assemblies of Cambodia, Laos and Việt Nam (CLV), first of all coordinating to organise the first summit in Laos and the next edition in Việt Nam. 

They will continue to promote their coordination at multilateral forums such as the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF) and other multilateral parliamentary organisations; and support each other’s stance on regional and international issues.

At the talks, NA Chairman Huệ proposed that in cooperation at multilateral forums, the two sides should increase consultations on strategic, security and development issues of the region as well as of each country; affirm ASEAN’s central role in regional issues; uphold the bloc’s common principled stance on the East Sea which calls for ensuring security, safety, and freedom of navigation and aviation on the basis of compliance with international law, addressing disputes by peaceful means in accordance with international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), seriously and fully implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and soon achieving a substantive, effective and efficient Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).  

Earlier the same day, Samdech Khuon Sudary led the Cambodian NA delegation to pay tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum, and lay flowers in commemoration of Vietnamese martyrs at the Martyrs’ Monument on Hà Nội’s Bắc Sơn Street.

In the evening, NA Chairman Huệ is scheduled to host a banquet for Samdech Khuon Sudary and the Cambodian NA delegation. VNS