Vietnam attends opening of 143 IPU General Assembly
Madrid (VNA) – A Vietnamese delegation led by
Chairman of the National Assembly’s Committee for External Relations Vu Hai Ha
attended the opening of the 143rd General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary
Union (IPU-143) hosted by the Parliament of Spain in Madrid on November 26
evening (local time).
Themed “Contemporary
challenges to democracy: Overcoming division and building communities”, the
event drew nearly 1,500 delegates from 123 member parliaments, eight affiliate members and 20 observers, including 39 heads and 27 deputy heads of
parliaments.
In his opening
remarks, King of Spain Felipe VI underscored the importance of parliaments,
considering them a central institution of democracy.
President of the
United Nations General Assembly Abdulla Shahid and UN Secretary General António
Guterres also highlighted the significance of parliamentary diplomacy as
well as parliaments’ activities to realise the UN’s agreements. They affirmed
commitment to further strengthening strategic partnership between the UN and
the IPU.
The same day, the Vietnamese delegation met Vietnam’s Honorary Consul in Barcelona Pau Guardans Cambo to discuss bilateral cooperation opportunities, especially in economy, culture, sports and tourism and others fields of the two countries’ strength.
They also visited
headquarters of the Spanish company HIPRA and learned about its progress of
studying and experimenting COVID-19 vaccine which is expected to be licensed and
put 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 bilateral
meetings on the sidelines of the events./.