National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and Hungarian Ambassador to Vietnam Őry Csaba. (Photo: VNA)

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue is paying an official visit to Hungary and the United Kingdom from June 26-30 at the invitation of the two countries’ parliamentary leaders.

The visit aims to enhance the parliamentary ties between Vietnam and these two countries, thereby helping to strengthen political trust and further deepen ties with Hungary and the UK in all aspects.

The Vietnam-Hungary relationship has a long history of more than 70 years. The bilateral relationship has developed positively since the two countries upgraded their relationship to a comprehensive partnership on the occasion of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s visit to Hungary in 2018.

The two sides maintain exchanges, coordinate and support each other at multilateral parliamentary forums, and exchange experience in parliamentary activities, especially the formulation and fine-tuning of the legal framework to facilitate the two countries’ investors and businesses to cooperate in doing business in a stable and long-term manner, bringing substantive benefits to both sides.

In economic cooperation, Hungary was active in pushing for the passing of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement and was the first EU member country to ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement. Bilateral trade in 2021 was maintained at 1.1 billion USD despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Hungarian government donated 256,000 doses of vaccines and 100,000 rapid test kits to help Vietnam in the fight against the pandemic.

In the EU, Hungary offers the largest number of scholarships to Vietnam. Concerning development cooperation, Hungary regards Vietnam as the main partner in providing official development assistance, with pledges of 440 million EUR. The 5,000-strong Vietnamese community in Hungary is well integrated into local society and looks towards the home countries with many activities.

Since Vietnam and the UK established a strategic partnership in 2010, bilateral and multilateral cooperation has seen much positive progress. Despite the difficulties due to COVID-19, the UK side sent many high-level delegations to visit Vietnam in 2021.

The effective cooperation between the Vietnamese National Assembly and the UK Parliament over recent years is an important factor in further promoting the Vietnam-UK Strategic Partnership.

In economic and trade cooperation, the total bilateral trade value reached 6.6 billion USD in 2021. The UK is Vietnam’s third largest trading partner in Europe and is among Vietnam's top 20 foreign investors. The UK currently has 452 active projects in Vietnam, with a total investment of nearly 4 billion USD, ranking 15th among 140 countries and territories investing in Vietnam.

Educational cooperation between the two sides has been enhanced with the presence of the British Council in Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City. The Vietnamese community in the UK has about 110,000 people, the majority of whom are well integrated into local society and have activities to strengthen community solidarity and look toward building the homeland.

Following the success of recent high-level exchanges between the two countries, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue’s official visit to Hungary and the UK aims to continue implementing the foreign policy of the 13th Party Congress, maintain and deepen bilateral cooperation, enhance political trust with partner countries, affirm the two sides’ political determination in maintaining and promoting parliamentary cooperation.

The visit also aims to promote the effective implementation of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement and the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, creating new momentum for the relationship between Vietnam and these two countries in all aspects. Through meetings with political circles, businesses and the Vietnamese community, this visit will help attract resources for post-pandemic socio-economic recovery and development.

The visit is also an occasion for the National Assembly Chairman to convey Vietnam’s message and position on some regional and international issues of shared interest. The visit also demonstrates the Party and State’s attention to the overseas Vietnamese community, in the implementation of Politburo’s Decision No.12 on overseas Vietnamese affairs in the new situation.

May National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue’s official visit to Hungary and the UK be a great success, helping to strengthen political trust and deepen the comprehensive partnership with Hungary and the strategic partnership with the UK in all aspects.