NA Chairwoman’s IPU-138 participation, Netherlands visit successful

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam has demonstrated its high responsibility as a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly Executive Committee when it delivered a report on the operation of the committee at the 138th IPU Assembly (IPU-138) in Switzerland’s Geneva, a Vietnamese official has said.

Chairman of the National Assembly’s Committee for External Affairs Nguyen Van Giau made the affirmation in an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency after he accompanied National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan to the event.

At the invitation of IPU President Gabriela Cuevas Barron, NA Chairwoman Ngan led a Vietnamese high-ranking delegation to attend the IPU-138 from March 25-26.

The event, which was chaired by IPU President Gabriela Cuevas Barron, took place in the context of complicated developments worldwide, especially the emergence of terrorism; refugee matter; populist movement and ethnic strife, he said.

During the IPU-138, Vietnam showed its high responsibility through reports on activities of the IPU Executive Committee delivered at the event, which reflected fully and clearly Vietnam’s viewpoints, and participated in all conferences in the framework of the event, he stressed.

In her speech at the IPU-138’s opening session, NA Chairman Ngan made recommendations and specific initiatives to address challenges of migration, and affirmed the need to maintain peace for sustainable development.

She also proposed the IPU member countries to effectively implement the the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and calling on IPU member parliaments to review legal policies concerning education, health care, job, equal treatment for refugees.

The Vietnamese leader also suggested the building of policies to create resources for supporting countries that affected by the migration problem, with the assistance from big nations.

The Vietnamese delegation had meetings and worked with the IPU President and Secretary General, during which the IPU leaders highly valued Vietnam’s efforts to organise the 26th Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF-26) in January.

They stated that the Hanoi Declaration was a success of the APPF-26 as it has set forth a new vision and development orientation for Asia-Pacific parliamentary partnership to 2030.

The IPU President and Secretary General said Vietnam has been an active member of the IPU and closely cooperated with the union in recent years since the country successfully hosted the IPU-132, affirming that Vietnam is seen a good example for the IPU’s other member nations.

On the sidelines of the IPU-138, NA Chairwoman Ngan met with Speaker of Indonesia's House of Representatives Bambang Soesatyo, Speaker of the Sri Lankan Parliament Karu Jayasuriya, and Bulgarian Speaker of Bulgarian National Assembly Tsveta Karayancheva.

NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan’s official visit to the Netherlands from March 26-28 was a success, Giau said. The visit has further deepened the two countries’ relations by expanding their strategic partnership on two more areas and strengthening their friendship and multifaceted cooperation.

Ngan held talks with Speaker of the House of Representatives Khadija Arib and President of Senate Ankie Broekers Knol and paid a courtesy visit to Queen Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti, who also serves as the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development.

During these meetings, the Dutch side showed concerns over the East Sea issues. They stressed the importance of freedom of overflight and navigation, saying the settlement of all territorial disputes in the East Sea must be abided by the law to maintain a peaceful environment.

They urged Vietnam to further foster cooperation in multiple fields, including education and tourism.

The NA chairwoman also had meetings with the Netherlands-Vietnam Chamber of Commerce (NVCC) and Hermen Borst, Dutch Director of the Staff of the Delta Programme Commissioner, he said. Giau noted that the meeting with Borst was very interesting which provided something for Vietnam to learn from. The Delta Programme is designed to protect the Netherlands against flooding and to secure freshwater supplies for the country.

The Dutch Government provided about 2 billion USD in funding for the Delta Programme Commission and it works really well, he added.

Giau said that he believes Vietnam and the Netherlands will continue bringing the bilateral relations to a new height. The visit made by NA Chairwoman Ngan marked a new milestone in the expansion of the ties between the two legislative bodies, dedicating the stronger diplomatic ties between the two countries and the regional and global peace and development.-VNA