Delegates see off NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue at Noi Bai International Airport on September 5 morning (Photo: VNA)

In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency’s correspondent in Europe, Vietnamese Ambassador to Austria Nguyen Trung Kien said since Vietnam and Austria officially established diplomatic relations in 1972, the bilateral relationship has witnessed fruitful development across fields, from politics, economy, trade and investment, to education-training, science-technology and culture.

Top leaders of the two countries had also paid visits to each other's country, and the two sides conducted the political consultation at the deputy minister level in 2019.

Austria is one of the five largest trade partners of Vietnam in the European Union (EU). Trade value between the two countries in 2019 reached about US$3.6 billion. Since August 2020, when the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) took effect, two-way trade has remarkably grown and is expected to achieve even more positive results when this agreement will be fully tapped in the near future.

Although it is a multilateral activity within the framework of the the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the Vietnamese top legislator’s visit is an important occasion to promote Vietnam - Austria relations, Kien said.

Within the framework of the visit, the Vietnamese high-ranking delegation will have many activities to promote Vietnam's cooperation with Austria in a wide range of fields, including economy, trade, investment, and agriculture, he added.

The visit will also affirm Vietnam’s priority to expand cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) which are based in Vienna - the world's third largest centre for multilateral diplomacy, the ambassador said.

Hue’s attendance at WCSP5 once again affirms Vietnam's commitment to actively and responsibly participate in multilateral parliamentary diplomacy, and promote the role and position of the country and its legislature at regional and international parliamentary cooperation mechanisms.

Hue and the high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese NA left Hanoi on September 5 morning for WCSP5. They will also pay working visits to the European Parliament and Belgium, and an official visit to Finland during their trip from September 5-11.

The visits are being made at the invitations of IPU President Duarte Pacheco, President of the Austrian National Council Wolfgang Sobotka, President of the European Parliament David Sassoli and Speaker of the Finnish Parliament Anu Vehvilainen.