Vietnamese NA Chairman Tran Thanh Man Concludes Successful Morocco Visit

Marrakech – Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn concluded his successful four-day official visit to Morocco on Sunday, departing for Switzerland to attend the Sixth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament.

During his stay, the Vietnamese top legislator met with Moroccan Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch and held talks with Speaker of the Moroccan House of Representatives Rachid Talbi Alami and President of the House of Councillors Mohamed Ould Errachid.

The Moroccan leaders stressed the importance of this visit as both countries prepare to celebrate 65 years of diplomatic relations in 2026. They pointed to the historically strong bilateral relationship, particularly in people-to-people exchanges.

Both sides agreed on the need to expand economic and trade cooperation to match their strong political ties. They committed to fostering two-way investment and supporting each other as regional gateways.

Mẫn proposed enhancing information sharing on market trends, promoting free trade initiatives at multilateral platforms, strengthening business connections, and exploring joint production for exports to third-party markets, especially those with existing free trade agreements.

He also suggested negotiating a new trade agreement aligned with current development priorities and deepening cooperation in strategic sectors such as agricultural processing, fertilizer production, and renewable energy.

Discussions revealed possibilities for Morocco to establish a platform for Vietnamese investment in Africa, while Vietnam could serve as a bridge between Morocco and ASEAN countries, representing a market of over 600 million consumers.

In terms of parliamentary cooperation, both sides agreed to work closely at multilateral forums, promote exchanges among young and female parliamentarians, increase high-level delegation visits, and share law-making experiences.

They also discussed building legal frameworks for digital transformation, climate change response, and green economic development, while using parliamentary diplomacy to strengthen collaboration between ministries, businesses, and institutions.

The Vietnamese National Assembly and the Moroccan House of Representatives also signed a cooperation agreement during the visit, formalizing commitments to promote parliamentary cooperation, regular delegation exchanges, and information sharing on legislative activities.

While in Casablanca and Rabat, Mẫn attended a policy dialogue on promoting Vietnam-Morocco cooperation, met with the Morocco-Vietnam Friendship Association, and engaged with the Vietnamese community in Morocco.

The visit builds upon deep historical ties between the two nations. Since the 1950s, Moroccan soldiers who remained in Vietnam after the French colonial period established communities near Hanoi, while Vietnamese families settled in Morocco near Kenitra City in the 1970s.