WCSP5: Vietnamese NA joins hands to cope with global challenges

Vietnamese NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – A high-ranking Vietnamese National Assembly (NA) delegation led by Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue will attend the fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament (WCSP 5) in Austria from September 5-7.

The attendance is made at the invitation of President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Duarte Pacheco and President of the Austrian National Council Wolfgang Sobotka.

Since becoming an IPU member in April 1979, Vietnam has always been an active and responsible member of the forum.

In particular, in 2015, the National Assembly of Vietnam actively participated in developing a sustainable development programme initiated by the UN, with the successful organisation of the 132th IPU General Assembly in Hanoi in March.

Through the IPU, bilateral relations between the Vietnamese legislature and parliaments of other countries have been established and strengthened. As an active member of the organisation, the Vietnamese National Assembly has regularly sent high-level delegations led by its Chairperson or Standing Vice Chairperson to attend WCSP Conferences since 2000.

This time, the Vietnamese delegation will attend the WCSP 5 via videoconference in Vienna, Austria.

Chairman of the NA Commission for External Relations Vu Hai Ha said it is the first visit by a Vietnamese leader to Europe after two years of COVID-19 pandemic, following the 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the election of deputies to the 15th legislature and People’s Councils at all levels for the 2021-2026 tenure.

Ha said Chairman Hue will hold bilateral meetings with IPU leaders and speakers of parliaments, President of the Austrian National Council, representatives of international organisations and Austrian enterprises working in energy, construction materials, telecommunications and information technology.

Heads of the NA committees and ministers will also meet partners to discuss measures promoting bilateral ties and express support for the ratification of the European Union – Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement  (EVIPA).

Following the success of the 41st General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-41) hosted by the Vietnamese NA in 2020 and AIPA-42 hosted by Brunei in 2021 with active and effective participation of the Vietnamese legislature, the Vietnamese delegation is expected to make important contributions to the forum’s agenda, thereby affirming a message about Vietnam as an active, proactive and responsible member of the international community, especially amid the fight against the pandemic at present, and the people must be placed at the centre in every effort and policy of a country./.