Hanoi, Vietnam, Wednesday 16 March 2022 – His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio has met the National Assembly Chairman, Vuong Dinh Hue, indicating that his visit holds significant meaning as the two countries celebrate 40 years of diplomatic ties on June 24.
The official trip to Vietnam by the President of Sierra Leone is the first visit by a head of state between the two countries.
Chairman Hue noted that parliamentary cooperation was an important channel in the implementation of Vietnam’s external policies, adding that the Vietnamese legislature was keen to expand bilateral and multilateral cooperation with parliaments across all continents. To date, the southeast Asian nation has been a member of various regional and international inter-parliamentary organisations.
He asked President Julius Maada Bio to support the enhancement of the cooperation between the Vietnamese National Assembly and the Sierra Leonean Parliament, expressing his hope that “the countries’ legislative bodies will foster cooperation, information and experience exchange; uphold their role in supervising and promoting the implementation of signed agreements; increase the exchange of delegations; and support each other at multilateral parliamentary forums”.
He noted with satisfaction that the Vietnam-Sierra Leone relations had thrived in politics-diplomacy, agriculture and investment, and further affirmed that Vietnam would always treasure and hope to foster the friendship and sound collaboration with African nations, including Sierra Leone, particularly in sectors with potential and room for cooperation.
In his statement, President Julius Maada Bio said that Vietnam had exerted great efforts to surmount numerous obstacles during the past 40 years and had made strides in socio-economic development, adding that the two countries shared similarities as they always strove to overcome difficulties for the sake of the people.
He also informed his host of the results of previous meetings with high-ranking leaders of Vietnam, stating that the two sides had discussed different issues, both bilaterally and multilaterally, so as to support each other and produce measures to step up cooperation in different fields based on their potential and aspirations.
“Sierra Leone is paying attention to food production, agriculture, rural development, hunger eradication and poverty alleviation, high technology in food and seafood processing,” he said, adding that during the visit members of his delegation would explore farming methods and experience of Vietnam, thereby boosting cooperation at all levels.
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