Duong Hai Hung, the new Ambassador of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, paid a courtesy call on the Speaker of the House of Representatives Anglu Farrugia.
Speaker Farrugia referred to the excellent bilateral relations that exist between Malta and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, which relations were established diplomatically in January 1974. He noted that collaboration between Malta and Vietnam has been mainly restricted to multilateral cooperation, though former Foreign Minister Abela met twice the Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister in 2018, while the Deputy Director General of the Vietnamese Marine Affairs Department participated in the ‘Our Oceans Conference’ held in Malta in 2017.
The Vietnamese ambassador congratulated the Speaker following Malta’s election to the UNSC. He expressed his hope that Malta and Vietnam exchange visits both at parliamentary level as well as the executive level. He said that about 200 Vietnamese were living in Malta while Vietnamese students come to Malta to follow courses at IMLI.
Speaker Farrugia and Ambassador Duong Hai Hung discussed various issues of mutual interest, including relations with the European Union, with the ambassador requesting Malta’s assistance vis-à-vis the yellow card by the EC concerning fisheries. He also looked forward to Malta’s ratification of the VPA signed in October 2018 between the EU and Vietnam.
Ambassador of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Duong Hai Hung was accompanied by Hoang Thi Tuan Oanh, First Secretary, and Nguyen Thanh Vinh, First Secretary, both at the Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Rome.
Source: Office of the Prime Minister