Vietnam treasures ties with Qatar, considering the country an important partner in the region, National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan said.

National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (L) and Prime Minister of Qatar Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani

She met Prime Minister of Qatar Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani on the sidelines of the 140th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU-140) in Doha on April 7. 

She congratulates Qatar on its past achievements, including among one of the countries globally achieving the highest income per capita and winning of the Asian Cup Championship 2019 by its national football team. 

Ngan informed the host about Vietnam’s recent situation, saying that its economy grew by 7.08 percent last year and the country signed and enforced 12 free trade agreements (FTAs) and is in the processing of negotiating four other FTAs. Vietnam also recently hosted the second summit between the USA and the DPRK. 

Recalling Qatar Airways’ launch of direct flights to Hanoi and the central city of Da Nang in 2018, the leader stressed that Vietnam wants to continue partnering with Qatar in the fields of trade, investment and tourism. She also hoped that the Qatar PM will create favourable conditions for Vietnamese firms. 

The guest expressed her belief that under the sound leadership of the Emir and direction of the PM, Qatar will reap more important achievements in the future. 

PM Al Thani, for his part, thanked the Vietnamese NA for supporting Qatar parliament in hosting the IPU-140. He said the IPU-140 is important to strengthen ties among parliaments, affording Qatar a chance to boost bilateral ties with countries, including Vietnam. 

He highlighted the need to intensify bilateral ties across trade and investment and wished that more Vietnamese workers will come to Qatar to work in other fields, including health care, instead of construction at present. 

The host hoped that both sides will work in specific areas so Qatar could invest more in Vietnam. 

As Qatar will host World Cup 2022, he expressed hope to see the presence of the Vietnamese national football team there. He suggested both sides should work closely together in infrastructure upgrade in preparation for the event.

He also accepted Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s invitation to visit Vietnam in the future.-VNA