Vientiane (VNA) – Vietnam is ready to be a bridge to promote relations between Morocco and ASEAN countries, stated Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Committee for External Relations Vu Hai Ha at a meeting with Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs, National Defence, Islamic Affairs, and Moroccan Expatriates Committee of the Moroccan House of Representatives Salma Benaziz in Vientiane on October 20, on the sidelines of the 45th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-45).

Highlighted the long-standing relations between Morocco and Vietnam, the Moroccan official said that her country attaches importance to and hopes to bolster the friendship and all-round cooperation with Vietnam, and wishes to further strengthen and deepen bilateral ties in the coming time.

She thanked Vietnam for always supporting Morocco at regional and international multilateral forums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and AIPA, and said she hopes that the two countries will continue to promote trade cooperation to boost economic development.

Salma Benaziz said that Morocco is ready to be a gateway for Vietnam to connect with African countries.

She highly valued the relationship between the two legislatures, considering this as one of the important channels to promote relations between the two countries, and expressed her hope that Vietnam will support Morocco on the issue of Western Sahara.

For his part, Ha showed his delight at the growing parliamentary cooperation between Vietnam and Morocco through delegation exchanges and coordination at international parliamentary forums such as AIPA.

Ha affirmed his support and readiness to coordinate with the Moroccan side to ensure that the Friendship Parliamentarians’ Groups of the two sides can continue to inherit and promote the results of previous tenures, continuing to serve as a practical bridge to promote cooperation between the two legislative bodies.

Regarding the Western Sahara matter, Ha said that Vietnam supports the settlement of the issue through peaceful negotiations among the parties directly involved on the basis of international law and relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.

The Vietnamese official underlined the need to seek a fair, long-term, satisfactory, and acceptable solution for the parties involved in accordance with the prin🐷ciples and purposes of the UN Charter for peace, cooperation, and development in the region. As an active and responsible member of the international community, Vietnam is ready to contribute to the process of promoting dialogue and finding solutions so as to soon stabilise the situation for peace and stability in the region and the world over, he stated./.