Vietnam, U.S. lawmakers discuss parliamentary role in promoting bilateral ties

Vietnamese and the U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday discussed measures to boost the role of parliaments in promoting bilateral relations.

At the meeting with the U.S. House of Representatives Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi in Hanoi on Tuesday, Nguyen Sinh Hung, chairman of Vietnam's National Assembly, spoke highly of the U.S. Congress in building friendship and cooperative ties between the two sides.

The Vietnamese top legislator expressed his belief that bilateral relations will be further developed through cooperation mechanisms, including dialogue between two governments and parliaments as well as exchange of delegations at all levels, reported Vietnam's state-run news agency VNA.

Nancy Pelosi, for her part, said the exchanges of high-ranking delegations recently played an important role in promoting bilateral cooperation, adding that the two sides have much potential to lift bilateral ties to strategic partnership.

The U.S. official said the two sides should further cooperate in handling war consequences, especially in clearance of unexploded ordnances in Vietnam.

During the meeting, both sides agreed to strengthen sharing of experience in legislative area, boost negotiations to realize the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) for benefit of both nations, as well as strive to lift bilateral trade turnover to 40 billion U.S. dollars, reported VNA.

Bilateral trade turnover between Vietnam and the U.S. reached around 34.94 billion U.S. dollars in 2014, accounting for some 11. 7 percent of Vietnam's total trade revenue. Endi