Antara, Jakarta – Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and Indonesian House Speaker Puan Maharani signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on inter-parliamentary cooperation to strengthen relations between both nations.

"Mr Vuong Dinh Hue and I emphasize the importance of cooperation between the two countries as well as supporting ASEAN's solidity in maintaining peace and stability in the region, through the support of parliamentary diplomacy," Maharani remarked here on Friday.

The signing of the cooperation agreement between the two countries' parliaments will increase parliamentary information exchange, consultation, training, capacity building, and delegation exchanges.

Maharani affirmed that the parliamentary cooperation will support Indonesia and Vietnam in dealing with transnational crimes, such as illegal drug trafficking and Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing.

"Also, I encourage the two parliamentary bodies to improve regulations in each country," she remarked.

During their meeting, Maharani and Vuong discussed follow-ups to the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Delimitation Agreement.

Maharani expressed optimism that the cooperation would deepen friendship between the two parliaments, as Indonesia and Vietnam have established long-standing relations.

"In ASEAN, the relationship between Indonesia and Vietnam is that of siblings," she stated.

The speaker expected that the MoU would result in real impacts on strategic partnerships in trade, investment, clean and renewable energy, and connectivity.

Speaker Maharani is also upbeat that the trade volume between Indonesia and Vietnam would continue to increase with each passing year.

In 2022, the trade volume between the two countries had reached US$11 billion.

"I support the bilateral trade target of US$15 billion by 2028. Increasing trade between the two countries can be realized by lifting non-tariff barriers to trade," she explained.

Maharani also invited the National Assembly of Vietnam to contribute to realizing peace and prosperity in the Southeast Asian region.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1756560/vietnam-and-indonesia-sign-mou-on-inter-parliamentary-cooperatio