Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked relevant agencies to work to ensure absolute security and safety for the upcoming 132nd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU-132) in Hanoi.

The work is very significant since the IPU-132 will be the largest international event that Vietnam has ever hosted, said the Deputy PM, who is Deputy Head of the State Steering Committee on IPU-132 organisation, when examining event preparations on February 28.

He stressed that the successful organisation of this event will heighten the National Assembly’s role and prestige in the Inter-Parliamentary Union, bolster the country’s friendship and cooperation with others and major international organisations, and improve its position in the world arena.

The Government official also requested ministries, sectors and localities to intensify inspections on diseases and food hygiene in Hanoi and localities involved in the event.

The IPU-132 will take place in Hanoi from March 28 to April 1. The Vietnamese NA officially became a member of the IPU in April 1979, and has since positively and responsibly operated in the forum. The NA has assumed the presidency of the Asia Pacific Geopolitical and ASEAN+3 Groups of the IPU in 2006 and 2010, respectively.

At the 117th IPU Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland in 2007, Vietnam’s NA was elected to the Executive Committee of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). During the IPU-121 in 2009, Vietnam was elected to serve as Vice President of the IPU.

Established in 1889 in Paris, France, the IPU is the oldest multi-national political organisation in the world. Based in Geneva, the organisation currently has 162 member nations.-VNA