NA Chairman begins official visit to Armenia

Officials welcoming the delegation at Zvartnots International Airport included Vice President of the Armenian NA Hakob Arshakyan, Armenian Ambassador to Vietnam Suren Baghdasaryan, head of the Armenia – Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Group Hasmik Hakobyan, and Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia and Armenia Dang Minh Khoi.

Since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1992, their traditional friendship has been flourishing, with Armenia viewing Vietnam as an important partner in Southeast Asia.

The two sides have maitained mutual visits and meetings at all levels, including the meeting between Vietnamese Party General Secretary To Lam and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on the occasion of the Francophonie Summit in October 2024, and the official visit to Vietnam by NA President Alen Simonyan in November the same year.

The countries have also coordinated with and supported each other at multilateral forums and frameworks, including the United Nations and the Francophone community.

The welcome ceremony for NA Chairman Tran Thanh Man and his spouse at Zvartnots International Airport of Yerevan on late April 1 (local time). (Photo: VNA)

Cooperation between the two parliaments has been maintained, particularly since the Vietnam visit by the Armenian NA President. Previously, they had mainly held meetings on the sidelines of multilateral conferences and forums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie (APF). The Armenian NA set up the Armenia – Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Group in 2021.

Economic, trade, and investment ties have also been promoted in recent years, since the entry into force of the free trade agreement between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in 2016. Bilateral trade reached 342 million USD in 2023 and approximated 500 million USD last year.

During his trip, Chairman Man is scheduled to have talks and meetings with the top leaders of Armenia, received the head of the Armenia – Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Group, attended a bilateral business forum, and visited some local cultural and economic establishments.

The official visit is a demonstration of Vietnam’s consistent policy of treasuring and promoting relations with the countries it has traditional friendship with, including Armenia. The two sides will also discuss measures for fostering parliamentary cooperation and facilitating bilateral partnerships, especially in economy, trade, investment, education, training, and culture.