At the opening ceremony (Photo: VNA) Madrid (VNA) – A Vietnamese delegation led byChairman of the National Assembly’s Committee for External Relations Vu Hai Haattended the opening of the 143rd General Assembly of the Inter-ParliamentaryUnion (IPU-143) hosted by the Parliament of Spain in Madrid on November 26evening (local time).
Themed “Contemporarychallenges to democracy: Overcoming division and building communities”, theevent drew nearly 1,500 delegates from 123 member parliaments, eight affiliate members and 20 observers, including 39 heads and 27 deputy heads ofparliaments.
In his openingremarks, King of Spain Felipe VI underscored the importance of parliaments,considering them a central institution of democracy.
President of theUnited Nations General Assembly Abdulla Shahid and UN Secretary General AntónioGuterres also highlighted the significance of parliamentary diplomacy aswell as parliaments’ activities to realise the UN’s agreements. They affirmedcommitment to further strengthening strategic partnership between the UN andthe IPU.
Vietnamese delegation at the event (Photo: VNA) The same day, the Vietnamese delegationmet Vietnam’s Honorary Consul in Barcelona Pau Guardans Cambo to discuss bilateralcooperation opportunities, especially in economy, culture, sports and tourismand others fields of the two countries’ strength.
They also visitedheadquarters of the Spanish company HIPRA and learned about its progress ofstudying and experimenting COVID-19 vaccine which is expected to be licensed andput into use in the first quarter next year.
From November 27-30, the Vietnamese delegation plans to continue joining the UN General Assembly’s activities and hold several bilateralmeetings on the sidelines of the events./.
