Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan’s tight schedule in Norway
Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan said she hopes Norway will help speed up the negotiation for a free trade agreement between Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) during a meeting with Crown Prince of Norway Haakon Magnus in Oslo on November 23 (local time).
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| Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan (L) meets with Crown Prince of Norway Haakon Magnus in Oslo on November 23. (Photo: VNA) |
Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan had a meeting with Crown Prince of Norway Haakon Magnus in Oslo on November 23 (local time) as part of her ongoing visit to the northern European country.
Highlighting the growth of the Vietnam-Norway relations in all fields, Vice President Xuan said that the two sides should maintain high-level visits to strengthen political trust and enhance the effectiveness of bilateral cooperation.
She proposed that the two sides should build legal frameworks to create foundation for bilateral relations, while expanding collaboration in new areas such as culture, education-training, science-technology and people-to-people exchange, and strengthening coordination and mutual support at regional and international forums.
The Vietnamese Vice President said she hopes Norway will help speed up the negotiation for a free trade agreement between Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), and support Vietnam to implement its commitment within the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP).
For his part, Crown Prince Haakon Magnus recalled his strong impression when seeing the great changes in Vietnam during a visit to Vietnam in 2014, and affirmed that Vietnam is an important partner of Norway.
He showed concern about the climate change impact on the Mekong Delta and pledged that the Royal Family and the Government of Norway will continue to support Vietnam in responding to climate change, promoting green transition and developing renewable energy.
The Crown Prince highly valued Vietnam’s commitments made at international forums on green transition, especially the net-zero emission commitment by 2050. He pledged that Norway will cooperate with and support Vietnam in realising these commitments.
On the occasion, Vice President Xuan extended President Vo Van Thuong’s invitation to King Harald V to visit Vietnam, and invited the Crown Prince and Princess to visit Vietnam again in 2024.
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| An overview of the talks between Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store. (Photo: VNA) |
The same day, Xuan held talks with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store to discuss cooperation orientations and measures to bolster and deepen the friendship and partnership between Vietnam and Norway.
The Norwegian PM said that the Vietnamese Vice President’s visit reflects the strong commitment of the two countries to promoting the bilateral ties. He said he is impressed by Vietnam’s achievements in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially those on poverty reduction and gender equality.
PM Store congratulated Vietnam on its election to the UN Human Right Council for the second time, and expressed hope to cooperate closely with Vietnam in this field.
Xuan affirmed that Vietnam highly values the effective and precious support that the Government and people of Norway have given to Vietnam over the years, helping Vietnam promote socio-economic development and complete Millennium Development Goals.
The two sides agreed on the need to maintain the exchange of delegations at all levels, especially high level, and consider the possibility of establishing a strategic partnership framework in areas matching each other’s strengths and demands. They concurred to continue supporting each other at multilateral forums and in settling global challenges.
Regarding economic cooperation, the two sides noted the progress in bilateral trade and investment partnership, with Vietnam becoming the second largest trade partner of Norway among ASEAN member countries.
The two sides agreed to support and encourage Norwegian businesses to increase investment in Vietnam, and coordinate with each other in promoting the negotiation of the FTA between Vietnam and the EFTA, thus opening up new economic cooperation opportunities between the two sides and benefiting enterprises of the two countries.
They vowed to strengthen collaboration within the JETP framework through support in finance, technology transfer, human resources development and institution building experience sharing.
The Norwegian PM expressed his hope to form strategic cooperation mechanisms in specific areas such as green transition, circular economy and green economy.
The two leaders agreed on the necessity to expand cooperation in the fields of education-training, science-technology, social welfare, climate change, security, defence, and people-to-people exchange.
PM Store affirmed that the Norwegian Government will continue to create favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community in the country.
Regarding international and regional issues, the two leaders agreed that the two sides will continue to work closely with each other at regional and international forums, especially the UN and the ASEAN-EU cooperation framework, contributing to maintaining peace and stability in the region and the world on the basis of respect for international law and fundamental principles of the UN Charter.
Xuan conveyed Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s invitation to PM Store to visit Vietnam.
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| Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan (L) meets President of the Norwegian Parliament Masud Gharahkhani. (Photo: VNA) |
Also on November 23, Vice President Xuan had a meeting with President of the Norwegian Parliament Masud Gharahkhani who hailed Vietnam’s positive engagement in dealing with global challenges, especially those in climate change with the commitment to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
Xuan proposed that the Norwegian Parliament support the establishment of legal frameworks facilitating bilateral cooperation in areas matching each other’s strengths and demands such as green transition, climate change and circular economy.
The Vietnamese Vice President said she hopes Norway will help speed up the signing of a FTA between Vietnam and the EFTA, and provide Vietnam with financial resources and institution building experience, and human resources training support to realise the country’s international commitments, especially those made at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) and within the JETP framework.
The Norwegian parliament leader agreed with Xuan on the need to beef up cooperation to optimise each other’s advantages and potential, saying that the Norwegian Parliament supports collaboration with Vietnam in green transition and creates favourable conditions for Norwegian firms to strengthen partnership with Vietnamese peers.
The legislatures of Vietnam and Norway should strengthen the exchange of delegations and experience in building policies and laws to deal with challenges in socio-economic development in each country, he said.
On the occasion, Vice President Xuan conveyed an invitation from Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue to the Norwegian Parliament President to visit Vietnam.
Earlier the same day, Vice President Xuan received Norwegian Minister of Culture and Equality Lubna Jaffery who underlined that Norway and Vietnam share the same commitment to promoting gender equality.
The minister expressed hope that the two countries will strengthen cooperation in this field and continue to effectively coordinate with each other in this area at multilateral forums, especially the UN.
(Source: VNA)
