Norway, Vietnam pledge to reach FTA soon

Norway and Vietnam pledge to soon reach a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), said Norwegian Prime Minister (PM) Erna Solberg on Friday.

Solberg made the remarks at a press briefing in Hanoi on Friday after talks with her Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Tan Dung.

Welcoming increasing economic ties between Norway and Vietnam, Solberg said two leaders agreed to continue to boost cooperation in areas of business, trade and investment.

Congratulating Vietnam on its achievements in poverty reduction as well as progresses in realizing the United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the visiting Norwegian prime minister said the two sides agreed to speed up efforts to reach the remaining goals in post-2015 world agenda.

Vietnamese community in Norway will be a bridge to promote relations between two countries, said the Norwegian guest.

Norway pledges to continue dialogue on human rights with Vietnam, which is an important content in the two countries' cooperation, Solberg told reporters.

Norway always expects countries to stop use of death penalty and is happy to learn that Vietnam is trying to reduce the number of charges applied with this penalty, Solberg said. "Other areas that we have had discussions include promotion of global negotiations on climate change, for a wish of reaching a global legally binding agreement on the issue,"said Solberg, adding that Norway and Vietnam will actively work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the UN Environment Program in Vietnam.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, for his part, said at the press briefing that two sides"have conducted successful talks on the basis on mutual trust and understanding, exchanged views on situations of each country, discussed measures to boost Vietnam-Norway relations as well as regional and international issues of common interests." "Vietnam-Norway relations have enjoyed strong growth over the past years, especially in areas of politics, economy and development cooperation,"said Dung, adding that Norway is an important economic partner of Vietnam in Northern Europe.

Dung told reporters that prioritized cooperation areas between Vietnam and Norway include shipbuilding and maritime transport, seaport management and exploitation, sustainable seafood growing and fishing, oil and gas, renewable energy, green growth have opened many prospects and opportunities for the two countries.

Vietnamese and Norwegian governments will strive to promote early conclusion of negotiations and signing of an FTA between Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in 2015, said Dung, adding that the agreement is expected to bring about cooperation opportunities and boost friendship relations between Vietnam and Norway.

Vietnamese prime minister"thanked Norwegian government for providing official development assistance (ODA) for the country in the past years, which have been focusing on education, gender equality, demining and environmental protection."

Norway has contributed to helping Vietnam fulfill the UN MDGs before deadline and the two sides will continue cooperation in building sustainable development goals (SDGs) for post-2015 period, said Dung.

At the invitation of Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg is paying an official visit to Vietnam from Thursday to Saturday.

In the context of the tour, the Norwegian prime minister will pay courtesy calls on Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang and National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung, attend an international seminar on UN MDGs and SDGs as well as visit several economic, cultural sites of Vietnam, according to Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Endi