Vietnamese National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan hosted separate receptions in Hanoi on December 19 for Vice President of the House of Councillors of Japan Ogawa Toshio and Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar Defence Services.

National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (R) greets Vice President
of the House of Councillors of Japan Ogawa Toshio.

Ngan and Vice President of the House of Councillors of Japan Ogawa Toshio consented to intensify exchanges between parliamentarians, especially young and female ones, to share information and experience in legislative activities.

They agreed to enhance the connecting role of the Vietnam-Japan Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group and the Japan-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentary Alliance.

The two legislative bodies have paid heed to monitoring the implementation of cooperation agreements signed between Vietnam and Japan in a wide range of fields, as well as support the two governments in boosting cooperative ties.

The leaders acknowledged the positive development of the Vietnam-Japan extensive strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia, as shown by regular exchanges at all levels, especially among senior officials, effective cooperation across a variety of fields and strengthened political trust.

Vietnam sticks great importance to the extensive strategic partnership with Japan, Ngan said, adding that both nations share similar viewpoints on regional and international issues. 

The country greatly appreciates Japan’s cooperation and provision of official development assistance (ODA), which has helped Vietnam with national development, poverty reduction, economic growth, and settlement of post-war consequences such as clearing bombs and mines, and dealing with toxic chemicals, the Vietnamese NA leader told her guest.

Ngan expressed her hope that Japan will continue supporting Vietnam in dealing with these above-mentioned issues. She suggested the House of Councillors of Japan incentivize Japanese businesses to expand investment in Vietnam in hi-tech agriculture and supporting industries, as well as enabling Vietnamese enterprises to become involved in Japanese suppliers’ chains.

She underlined the need to boost cross-cultural exchanges, locality-to-locality cooperation, and collaboration in human resources development.

The top Vietnamese legislator asked the Japanese House of Councillors to offer optimal conditions for Vietnamese to live, study and work in Japan.

She urged both nations to bolster coordination at regional and global forums, particularly when Vietnam undertakes the role of Chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Chair of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) in 2020, and non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for 2020-2021.

The NA Chairwoman said she hopes Japan will continue supporting the stance of ASEAN and Vietnam on maintaining peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea, as well as settling disputes via peaceful measures in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Toshio, in turn, said Japanese parliamentarians support the policy of developing relations with Vietnam.

With regard to the settlement of post-war consequences, he said this is not only a matter of bilateral cooperation but also a humanitarian issue. Therefore, the Japanese parliament and government will assist Vietnam in this regard.

NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (R) and Senior General Min Aung Hlaing,
Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar Defence Services

Meeting with Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar Defence Services, Ngan said both Vietnam and Myanmar are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and share numerous similarities in history. The bilateral long-standing relations have been built by President Ho Chi Minh and General Aung San, and nurtured by generations of leaders and people of both nations.

Ngan showed her joy at the growing defence partnership, which has been  foster and developed since Senior General Min Aung Hlaing’s previous visit to Vietnam in March 2017.

She urged Vietnamese and Myanmar military leaders to direct relevant agencies to devise suitable forms and measures for the more comprehensive and effective implementation of bilateral cooperation agreements in defence.

The Vietnamese NA leader asked Myanmar to back the stance of ASEAN and Vietnam on the East Sea issue, which supports the settlement of disputes at sea by peaceful means and in line with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing affirmed Myanmar’s strong support for Vietnam and ASEAN.

He congratulated Vietnam on its outstanding achievements recorded over the past time, especially in economy. 

There is plenty of room for both nations to advance stronger cooperation between, he said, reiterating the proposal on transporting goods by road through Laos instead of by sea to shorten the distance and time.

The Senior General asked Chairwoman Ngan to pay greater attention to encouraging Vietnamese businesses to invest in Myanmar.

Viettel is investing in Myanmar with the brand of Mytel, and it has become the third biggest telecom operator in Myanmar. Mytel is destined to rise to the second position soon and take the lead in Myanmar, he noted

Min Aung Hlaing said he is elated to know that the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and the low-cost airline Vietjet Air are increasing flights to Myanmar, which he said will enable the two countries to boost cooperation in the coming time.

He voiced his hope that more Myanmar parliamentary delegations will visit Vietnam in the time to come to beef up cooperation between the two countries’ legislatures.

Regarding the East Sea issue, the Myanmar guest said his nation would strongly support the viewpoints of Vietnam and ASEAN and pledged his best efforts to further bolster cooperation between the two nations.