Hanoi (VNA) - The outcomes of National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man’s trip have opened up opportunities to further promote cooperation between Vietnam and Malaysia across various fields, commensurate with the stature of their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
They also reaffirmed the proactive and active role of the Vietnamese legislature within the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), contributing to the building of a cohesive, inclusive, and sustainable ASEAN.
With the spirit of “active participation, substantive contributions, and significant imprint,” the NA Chairman’s trip to attend the AIPA’s 46th General Assembly (AIPA-46) and pay an official visit to Malaysia from September 16-20 was a great success, leaving strong impressions in all spheres.
Promoting role of parliamentary diplomacy
Attending the AIPA-46, the top legislator and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation put forward numerous initiatives to further promote the special role and strengths of parliamentary diplomacy in realising the ASEAN Community Vision 2045. The NA Chairman emphasised that accompanying ASEAN throughout every stage of its development, AIPA has made important contributions by supporting governments in implementing regional agreements and commitments, creating a favourable legal environment, and ensuring that the voices of the people are reflected in ASEAN’s decisions.
He proposed three important priority areas for AIPA to focus on in the coming time while addressing the first plenary session. Firstly, NA Chairman Man said that AIPA needs to promote its role in fostering more effective regional cooperation, particularly strengthening its role as a bridge, encouraging and creating favourable conditions for social strata and stakeholders to actively contribute to the implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2045. Secondly, AIPA should actively contribute to consolidating a stronger social foundation for regional cooperation by encouraging, formulating, and implementing activities that nurture and spread community awareness and identity; enhancing communication, and promoting cooperation in culture, education, tourism, as well as organising exchange and interaction activities. Thirdly, AIPA should actively expand and deepen its external relations, thereby helping to consolidate ASEAN’s role as a central hub in the network of regional and global linkages and cooperation.
Since becoming a member of AIPA 30 years ago, the Vietnamese National Assembly has always been an active, proactive, and responsible member, ready to accompany AIPA in building a prosperous and strong ASEAN. In this spirit, Chairman Man affirmed that the Vietnamese NA will continue to stand side by side with AIPA to turn ASEAN’s vision and aspirations into reality, and build an inclusive, sustainable, resilient, innovative, and dynamic Community that truly places people at its centre.
Notably, the 46th AIPA General Assembly adopted several resolutions proposed and co-sponsored by Vietnam, particularly in priority areas such as digital economy, digital transformation, cyber security, intra-bloc trade, enhanced cooperation with partners, and the role of parliamentary diplomacy in maintaining regional peace and stability. Notably, resolutions on youth’s role in digital transformation, digital human resources development, effective digital economy utilisation, and combating cybercrime were passed, contributing to the strengthening of the “digital ecosystem” in line with ASEAN’s common development goals and Vietnam’s current priorities.
Vice Chairman of the National Assembly’s Committee for National Defence, Security and External Relations Don Tuan Phong stated that the resolutions proposed by the Vietnamese delegation were appreciated by member parliaments, with some even co-sponsored by other countries. He expressed his hope that these resolutions will serve as a foundation for parliaments to strengthen cooperation in promoting collaboration across all areas such as economy, trade, investment, digital economy, and green economy, while also expanding into new fields of cooperation and coordinating responses to climate change as well as addressing social, political, and security issues. These will be practical contributions to consolidating cohesion and enhancing AIPA’s role in the region and the world.
Consolidating political trust, facilitating economic cooperation
Alongside attending the 46th AIPA General Assembly, NA Chairman Man paid his first official visit to Malaysia in his capacity as a top Vietnamese legislator.
Within the framework of the visit, he held a meeting with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and held talks with Speaker of the House of Representatives Tan Sri Dato’ Johari bin Abdul and President of the Senate Dato’ Awang Bemee Awang Ali Basah.
The two sides reached important orientations, particularly in economy, trade, and investment, with the goal of soon raising bilateral trade to over 18 billion USD. They also agreed to facilitate economic cooperation, address legal bottlenecks to boost Malaysian investment in Vietnam, and step up collaboration in renewable energy, clean energy, oil and gas, science-technology, digital transformation, innovation, artificial intelligence (AI), the Halal industry, as well as participation in ASEAN power grid projects. The two countries also pledged to foster cultural, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges, especially among youth.
In an interview with Vietnamese press agencies, Malaysian Senate President Dato’ Awang Bemee Awang Ali Basah emphasised that NA Chairman Man’s participation in the 46th AIPA General Assembly and his official visit to Malaysia not only helped strengthen and enhance cooperation between the two sides but also created opportunities to exchange and discuss many pressing practical issues.
He stressed that Vietnam plays an important role, not only in terms of strategic vision but also as a governance hub in the region. The Senate President noted that during the visit, the two sides discussed many issues. In the current context of global political challenges, strengthening cooperation is a key factor in addressing emerging issues. Therefore, bilateral relations will continue to develop, moving toward closer coordination in tackling common challenges./.
