On the morning of January 21, within the framework of the APF Executive Board Meeting and the Francophone Parliamentary Cooperation Forum on sustainable agriculture, food security and climate change response, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man received President of the Francophone Parliamentary Union (APF), First Vice President of the Cameroon National Assembly Hilarion Etong in Can Tho City.
National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man respectfully thanked the APF President for supporting Vietnam in hosting the APF Executive Board Meeting in Vietnam and the Francophone Parliamentary Cooperation Forum on sustainable agriculture, food security and climate change response.
The National Assembly Chairman stated that Vietnam highly appreciates the role of Mr. Hilarion Etong as Chairman of APF, especially towards a new stage of development.
The National Assembly Chairman hopes that Mr. Hilarion Etong will continue to support the activities of the Vietnam Sub-Committee in the APF, including considering the adoption of the Can Tho Declaration on Francophone cooperation in the fields of sustainable agriculture, food security, and climate change response at the official mechanisms of the APF as an official document affirming the will and aspirations of Francophone parliamentarians to contribute to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the resolution of global issues.
APF President Hilarion Etong sincerely thanked National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and the Vietnamese National Assembly for giving APF and delegates a warm welcome right from the moment they arrived in Can Tho City; highly appreciated Vietnam's careful preparation in organizing the Conference and Forum.
APF President emphasized that National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and the Vietnamese National Assembly have initiated and promoted cooperation between the Francophone parliament in a very key area, which is sustainable agriculture, food security and climate change response; and that Vietnam is also a successful example in developing the rice industry as well as ensuring food security.
The APF President also stated that since becoming a member of the APF in 1974, the Vietnam Sub-Committee, the National Assembly of Vietnam has been a very active member of the APF; he believes that the Can Tho Declaration will be adopted with high approval because this document was drafted very carefully, systematically and with high quality. The APF President said that he will make efforts to promote the consideration and adoption of the Can Tho Declaration at the official mechanisms of the APF, which is a historical document, marking an important milestone in the formation and development process of the APF.
Here, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man also stated that Vietnam attaches importance to the traditional friendship and cooperation with Cameroon. He highly appreciated Cameroon's economic development achievements in recent times, becoming the largest economy in the Central African region, the locomotive of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC).
The National Assembly Chairman hopes that in the coming time, the two sides will continue to closely coordinate, deepening the multifaceted cooperation between the two countries, especially in the fields of economy, trade, investment and agriculture.
The National Assembly Chairman suggested that the two sides increase exchanges and connections of market information, opportunities, and strengths of each side, especially in the agricultural sector.
According to the National Assembly Chairman, parliamentary cooperation is an important channel in the overall good relationship between the two countries on both bilateral and multilateral levels. Therefore, in the coming time, the two sides need to promote this relationship, increase the exchange of high-level delegations between leaders of the two countries' parliaments, as well as specialized agencies of the two parliaments; promote exchanges between parliamentarians of the two countries, consider establishing a Friendship Parliamentarians' Group of the two countries' parliaments, and promote exchanges between young parliamentarians and female parliamentarians...
