NA Vice Chairwoman meets IPU leader, Cuban counterpart
Belgrade (VNA) – Vice Chairwoman of the National
Assembly (NA) Tong Thi Phong had separate meetings with President of the
International Parliamentary Union (IPU) Gabriela Cuevas Barron and Vice
President of the Cuban National Assembly Ana Maria Mari Machado on October 15
on the sidelines of the 141st IPU Assembly.
At the meeting with IPU President Gabriela Cuevas Barron,
Phong congratulated the IPU on the union’s 130th anniversary, which
shows the strong vitality of multilateralism and the development of
parliamentary diplomacy, contributing to maintaining peace, stability and promoting
dialogue and cooperation for the future of humankind.
Joining the IPU in 1979, the Vietnamese NA has actively
engaged in the organisation’s activities, she said, lauding the IPU cooperation
and support for the country in realizing its sustainable development goals over
the past two years.
Currently, Vietnam has implemented its commitments to the
IPU and the United Nations regarding ensuring sustainable development and
improving people’s material and spiritual lives by issuing new legislation,
including the Labour Code, the Law on Youth, the Law on the Elderly, and the
Law on Alcohol and Tobacco Harm Prevention, she noted.
The Vietnamese officialasked the IPU President to continue
supporting Vietnam in fulfilling its commitments. On the occasion, she invited
the IPU leader to visit Vietnam and attend an international conference on
nutrition and health care with a focus on ethnic groups in 2020.
For her part, IPU President Barron spoke highly of the role
Vietnam plays as an active and responsible IPU member, especially in
implementing commitments and action programmes set out by the union.
Noting that in the Asia-Pacific region, the results of
implementing a number of sustainable development goals have remained modest,
she suggestedVietnam share its experience with regional countries in the field.
She also expressed her hope that with Vietnam’s experience
and performanceas well as the dynamic development of the region, Asian
countries and Vietnam will succeed in completing all of their targets.
At the meeting with Vice President of the Cuban National
Assembly Ana Maria Mari Machado, Phong showed her delight at the growth of the
special traditional friendship between Vietnam and Cuba, especially after the
visit of Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong in March 2018
and the return visit by Chairman of the Cuban State Council and the Council of Ministers Miguel Diaz-Canel in November 2018.
Leaders of both sides have agreed to strengthen cooperation
and experience sharing, which is also the orientations for collaboration
between the two NAs, she said, showing her pleasure at the progress in the legislative
bodies’ partnership, especially in sharing experience and setting up friendship
parliamentarian groups.
She proposed that the two sides increase delegation exchange
to share experience in legislative and supervision activities as well as the
strengthening of the NA’s role in the political system, parliamentary diplomacy
and cooperation at multilateral international parliamentary forums.
Phong thanked Cuba for supporting Vietnam to become a
non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in the 2020-2021 tenure.
Recognising difficulties and challenges facing Cuba currently, she affirmed that
Vietnam supports Cuba’s just stance in fighting for embargo
lifting.
For her part, Ana Maria Mari Machado said that Cuba hopes to
learn from the Vietnamese NA’s experience in law building and supervision.
She proposed that the two sides work closely to hold a
conference between Vietnamese and Cuban NA leaders in 2020. She also expressed
hope that Vietnam will continue supporting Cuba’s standpoint in removing
embargoes./.