Vietnam always plays an important role in Portugal’s external policy, especially in the field of economy, he said, adding that Vietnam can help Portugal expand its relations with Asian countries.
Portugal, despite its small population, is a gateway to the world thanks to its location in the meeting point of Europe, Africa and Latin America, said Silva.
He suggested that Vietnam and Portugal strengthen people-to-people exchange with a priority of opening of diplomatic representative office in each other country.
Silva affirmed that Portugal will conduct a general election in March 2024, but whatever the result is, it will not affect the country’s relations with Vietnam in multilateral forums.
He thanked Vietnam for supporting the popularisation of Portuguese by establishing the Camões Portuguese language centre at Hanoi University in 2016.
For his part, Man affirmed that Vietnam always values the relationship with the European Union (EU) and its members, including Portugal. He expressed his delight that the two countries have maintained regular delegation exchanges and meetings at multilateral forums.
The Vietnamese NA Vice Chairman hailed Portugal’s plan to open its diplomatic representative office in Vietnam, pledging to create optimal conditions for and support this plan, which is expected to help foster bilateral ties and the exchange of information in many areas in the future.
He said that Vietnam also plans to launch its embassy in Portugal in the time to come, asking for Portugal’s assistance in the work.
Man proposed that the two sides coordinate closely to optimise opportunities brought about by the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) to complete the target of 1 billion USD in two-way trade in the time to come.
He also asked for Portugal’s support in persuading other EU members to ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) soon.
Tran Thanh Man suggested that Portugal hasten the European Commission to remove the “yellow card” warning against Vietnamese seafood export taking into account Vietnam's determination and efforts in fully and seriously implementing the EC's recommendations on sustainable fisheries development.
He proposed that Portugal continue creating favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community to settle down and integrate into the host society.
The two legislatures should increase delegation exchanges and consider the formation of friendship parliamentarians’ groups with each other to promote their partnership, while strengthening coordination and mutual support at regional and global inter-parliamentary forums, Man suggested.
Earlier the same day, NA Standing Vice Chairman Man had a meeting with former President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Duarte Pacheco.
Congratulating Pacheco on his successful performance of the IPU leader role, Man spoke highly of the important contributions that Pacheco has made to the IPU over the years. He expressed his belief that as a member of the Portuguese Parliament, Pacheco will continue to contribute to promoting external relations of the union.
For his part, Pacheco recalled his good memories during his trips to Vietnam and showed his impression at the success of the 9th Global Conference for Young Parliamentarians in Hanoi in September.
He underlined the high cooperation potential between the two countries, suggesting that they should send more business delegations to each other country to explore partnership opportunities.
He pledged that he always supports and will discuss with the new IPU President if Vietnam wishes to host the World Conference of Speakers of Parliament.
Also on November 14, NA Standing Vice Chairman Man had a meeting with Filipe Leite de Sousa, a representative from the Vovinam Federation in Portugal (WFVV), during which Man lauded the federation’s activities to popularise the Vietnamese traditional martial arts. Filipe Leite de Sousa vowed to continue to work hard for stronger friendship and cooperation between Portugal and Vietnam./.
