Hanoi (VNA) – The opening session of the World Peoples Assembly Days in Vietnam took place in Hanoi on August 25, marking the first time the event has been held in Vietnam.
The World Peoples Assembly's delegation was led by Andrey Belyaninov, Secretary-General of the World Peoples Assembly's and member of the Commission of Russia for UNESCO.
In his opening remarks, President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) Phan Anh Son stressed that the participation of social activists, experts, scholars, intellectuals, scientists and representatives of people’s organisations is a vivid testament to the enduring vitality, depth and broad social foundation of the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Russia.
Son expressed his hope that the event would not merely be a friendly exchange but would gradually become a regular, substantive and effective mechanism for dialogue, connectivity and cooperation, where ideas shared could be translated into concrete cooperation programmes and projects, suitable partners connected and promising initiatives turned into practical outcomes.
He called on the World Peoples Assembly and its member organisations across a network spanning more than 60 countries to mobilise resources and expand cooperation with Vietnam, jointly identify priority areas, develop common projects with tangible outputs and create long-term value. Accordingly, the activities of the organisations should shift decisively from exchanges to cooperation, from ideas to projects and from potential to concrete results.
Andrey Belyaninov, Secretary-General of the World Peoples Assembly and member of the Commission of Russia for UNESCO, and Vladimir Murashkin, Director of the Russian Cooperation Agency in Vietnam and First Secretary at the Russian Embassy, highlighted the important role of intercultural dialogue and people-to-people diplomacy in connecting the world amid global upheavals.
They affirmed that core values such as peace, respect for human dignity, preservation of cultural diversity, strengthening the family foundation and educating younger generations constitute the basis for sustainable development.
Presenting a paper at the opening session, VUFO Vice President Dong Huy Cuong said that, with a network of more than 600 international partners, the union was well placed to work with the World Peoples Assembly to connect social organisations, research institutes, universities, businesses, scholars and intellectuals. Cooperation between the two organisations would not only help strengthen the social foundation of Vietnam-Russia relations but also expand people-to-people connections between Vietnam and other countries.
Other presentations at the opening session focused on the significance of the event, notable achievements in Vietnam-Russia people-to-people diplomacy and prospects for expanding bilateral cooperation in the coming period.
In a video message to the opening session, Igor Khalevinskiy, Chairman of the Council of the Association of Russian Diplomats, highlighted the practical significance of the event and expressed his wish to develop cooperation with Vietnam.
As part of the opening session, the World Peoples Assembly signed cooperation agreements with five Vietnamese partners, namely the University of Economics under Vietnam National University, Hanoi; Hanoi University of Business and Technology; Hanoi Financial and Banking University; the Vietnam-Russia Cooperation Centre; and Hanoi College of Technology and Commerce.
The event runs from August 25-27 and features discussions on international cooperation in science and education as a driver of sustainable development, as well as the role of tourism in the economic development of countries around the world./.
VNA
