Prime Minister meets President of Chamber of Deputies of Luxembour. (Photo: VGP)

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with President of the Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg Fernand Etgen on December 9 (Luxembourg time), as part of his official visit to the European country.

The Vietnamese PM took the occasion to affirm that Vietnam attaches importance to the role and position of Luxembourg in the European Union (EU), and wants to further promote the comprehensive partnership between the two countries, including between the two law making bodies.

Etgen said the visit by the Vietnamese PM is a significant milestone helping bolster cooperation between Luxembourg and Vietnam in all aspects, in both bilateral and multilateral frameworks.

He said he was impressed by Vietnam’s work in pandemic control, socio-economic recovery and development, and external relations, particularly its successful performance as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in the 2020-2021 tenure. He expressed a wish to work closely with Vietnam to promote multilateral cooperation and strengthen the rules-based multilateral system.

The two sides noted with pleasure the good development of Vietnam-Luxembourg relations, and agreed to increase the exchange of all-level delegations between the two legislative organs, and coordinate closely at regional and world inter-parliamentary forums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership (ASEP) and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie (APF). They also vowed to push joint efforts to maintain international peace and security, realise Sustainable Development Goals, and respond to global challenges.

On the occasion, PM Chinh conveyed an invitation from National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue to the President of the Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg to visit Vietnam in 2023, and proposed that the Luxembourg parliament early establish a Luxembourg-Vietnam friendship association and a Luxembourg-Vietnam friendship parliamentarians group.

The two sides also reached consensus on further deepening economic and investment ties and expanding cooperation to potential fields such as green finance and response to climate change.

PM Chinh asked the Luxembourg parliament to push for the early ratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) by other EU members and support the early removal of the EC’s “yellow card” against Vietnam’s fishery products. He also hoped for Luxembourg’s help for Vietnam to build an international financial centre as well as stronger collaboration in digital transformation, green transition, climate change response, finance-banking and logistics.

For his part, the Luxembourg legislator affirmed that the EVFTA and EVIPA create an important impetus for Vietnam-EU economic, trade and investment ties.

He appreciated Vietnam’s efforts in shifting to sustainable fisheries and welcomed the early formation of a strategic partnership in green finance to contribute to the process of green transition and sustainable development.

Mentioning the Vietnamese community in Luxembourg, PM Chinh said the community is an important bridge in the Vietnam-Luxembourg relationship, and requested that the Luxembourg parliament continue to facilitate the community’s integration into the host society.

The PM shared Vietnam’s consistent stance on the East Sea issue, and asked the Luxembourg parliament to support the settlement of disputes by peaceful means, the full and serious implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (called East Sea in Vietnam) and the negotiations on a substantive and effective Code of Conduct in the East Sea in accordance with international law and the 1992 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.