Arusha (VNA) - Vice President of the Vietnamese National Assembly Nguyen Hong Dien continued attending the 153rd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU-153) in Tanzania, and held bilateral meetings with IPU officials and leaders of parliaments of Azerbaijan, Cambodia and Laos on the sidelines of the event on October 8.
Meeting with IPU President Tulia Ackson, Dien thanked her and the Parliament of Tanzania for hosting IPU-153 and acknowledging her contributions during her tenure as IPU President. He asked Ackson, as former President of the Tanzanian Parliament, to help promote economic, trade and investment ties between Vietnam and Tanzania, matching the two countries’ strong political relations.
For her part, Ackson thanked Vietnam for its cooperation with the IPU and support for its values. She spoke highly of the high proportion of National Assembly female deputies in Vietnam and expressed her hope that the Vietnamese NA would host IPU events in the future.
She affirmed the IPU’s readiness to provide tailored capacity-building programmes for parliamentarians and cooperate in areas such as applying artificial intelligence to parliamentary activities.
At his meeting with IPU Secretary General Anda Filip, Dien congratulated her on receiving the trust and support of IPU member countries and expressed his support for her leadership at the union. He called on Filip to support the Vietnamese NA in strengthening its legislative and supervisory capacity, enhancing its participation in IPU specialised mechanisms, and coordinating the organisation of activities and thematic forums in Vietnam.
Filip expressed her sentiments and close ties with Vietnam and thanked the country for supporting her appointment as IPU Secretary General. Recalling the successful cooperation in organising major events, including the 132nd IPU Assembly and the 9th Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians in Vietnam, she affirmed her commitment to continued close cooperation to strengthen ties between the IPU and the Vietnamese NA.
At her meeting with Dien, Speaker of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan Sahiba Gafarova welcomed the elevation of Vietnam-Azerbaijan relations to a strategic partnership during General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam’s visit to Azerbaijan in May 2025.
Gafarova her expressed hope that Vietnam would support her candidacy for IPU President for the 2026–2029 term, noting that she would be the first representative of the Eurasia geopolitical group at the IPU.
The Vietnamese official welcomed Gafarova’s candidacy, spoke highly of her leadership capacity, and invited her and other Azerbaijani NA leaders to visit Vietnam soon.
At his meeting with First Vice President of the Cambodian Senate Ouch Borith, Dien conveyed greetings from General Secretary and President Lam to Senate President Hun Sen and invited him to visit Vietnam. He stressed the importance of organising activities in 2027 to mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations, and proposed the two legislative bodies to continue close cooperation to promote trade and investment across all fields.
Ouch Borith expressed his delight at the sound development of traditional ties between the two countries and suggested further promoting economic, trade and investment cooperation, as well as facilitating customs clearance to help goods from each country access the other’s market.
Meeting Chairwoman of the Lao National Assembly’s Committee for External Relations Khaykhamphithoune Phoxay, Dien congratulated Laos on having new Prime Minister Saleumxay Kommasith and NA President Sonexay Siphandone, reaffirming Vietnam’s high regard for the special friendship and solidarity between the two countries. He highly valued close coordination between the two sides in preparing for Prime Minister Le Minh Hung’s visit to Laos on October 8 and 9.
Khaykhamphithoune thanked Vietnamese leaders for their greetings and congratulations and affirmed her commitment to effectively coordinating high-level exchanges and further strengthening cooperation between the two parliaments.
The IPU-153 continued its sessions and discussions on October 8, welcoming the Parliament of Nauru as its 184th member and adopting a resolution on inclusive social development for all, focusing on parliamentary strategies to promote the rights and empowerment of persons with disabilities.
Concluding his activities at IPU-153, Dien and the high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese NA left Tanzania for home on the same day evening./.
