National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong made the statement during his talks in Hanoi on August 19 with the speaker of Indonesia’s House of Representatives, Agung Laksono.

Mr Trong noted that together with Indonesia, Vietnam has fulfilled its task at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as a non-permanent member and it is actively preparing to host the 31^st General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) in Hanoi in 2010.

“We are very happy that relations between the two countries and legislative bodies have developed well recently,” said Mr Trong. “They have cooperated well in bilateral and multi-lateral forums. The Vietnam National Assembly wants to share experiences with Indonesia’s House of Representatives.”

Speaker Laksono praised Vietnam’s Renewal achievements, saying despite the global economic crisis, Vietnam has still achieved positive economic growth. He hoped that Vietnam would share its development experiences with Indonesia to help the latter meet its goal of securing a 6-percent GDP growth rate.

He said that both Indonesia and Vietnam should cooperate closely with other ASEAN members to successfully build a united ASEAN Community by 2015 as enshrined in its Charter.

Both host and guest shared the view that economic and trade cooperation between Vietnam and Indonesia remains modest, which has yet to match their potential. Two-way trade reached US$2.2 billion last year and just nearly US$1 billion in the first half of 2009.

The two countries should take measures to effectively carry out their cooperation programmes, they said.

Mr Trong proposed that the two countries sign a memorandum of understanding on borders and joint patrols at sea and early recognise each other’s post-graduate certificates.    

Vietnam is ready to receive Indonesian students to study in the country, said Mr Trong. He expressed his hope that Indonesia will increase more scholarships for Vietnamese students in its country.

Meanwhile, speaker Laksono proposed that the two legislative bodies and their agencies increase the exchange of visits to boost development in their respective countries.

During talks, parliamentarians and businesses of Vietnam and Indonesia exchanged views on issues of mutual concern, including their policies to attract foreign investment, gender equality and experiences in overcoming the adverse impact of the global economic crisis.

Shortly after that, Chairman Trong and Speaker Laksono held a joint press conference on the results of the talks.

The same day, State President Nguyen Minh Triet and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung received the Indonesian Speaker of the House of Representatives.

The Vietnamese leaders confirmed that Vietnam attaches great importance to strengthening traditional friendship and cooperation with Indonesia. They said that Vietnam encourages Indonesian businesses to invest in Vietnam and that it will send businesses to explore and expand cooperation with their Indonesian counterparts.

President Triet and PM Dung congratulated Indonesia on its successful results of the recent general elections and believed that Indonesian people will continue to reap greater achievements in national construction and development.

Speaker Laksono extended President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s invitation to President Triet and PM Dung to visit Indonesia at an appropriate time.