The working visit of National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man holds significant importance in implementing the foreign policy of the 14th Congress
WVR - According to Deputy Foreign Minister Dang Hoang Giang, the Vietnamese delegation led by National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man actively participated and made substantial contributions to the overall success of the 152nd General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
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| National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man with heads of delegations from various countries at IPU-152. (Photo: VNA) |
At the invitation of Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) President Tulia Ackson and IPU Secretary-General Martin Chungong, on behalf of the Party and State leaders, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and his spouse, along with the high-level Vietnamese delegation, attended the 152nd IPU General Assembly in Istanbul, Turkey, conducted several bilateral activities in Turkey, and paid an official visit to the Republic of Italy from April 11–17.
On this occasion, Deputy Foreign Minister Dang Hoang Giang gave an interview to the press regarding the outcomes of National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man's working visit.
Deputy Minister, what are the main outcomes of the IPU-152 General Assembly? Could you evaluate the significant contributions of the Vietnamese delegation at this forum?
The IPU-152 General Assembly achieved many important results, with the extensive participation of parliamentary leaders from various countries and representatives of many international organizations, amid the complex developments in the global situation.
Under the theme “Nurturing Hope, Ensuring Peace, and Protecting Justice for Future Generations”, the General Assembly reaffirmed IPU as a crucial framework for parliaments to enhance dialogue, promote consensus, and cooperate to strengthen peace, uphold the rule of law, and support multilateralism.
The conference discussed and passed several important resolutions on the role of parliaments in conflict prevention and resolution, promoting fair trade, combating protectionism, and enhancing financial transparency; it also restructured some mechanisms of the IPU.
The General Assembly promptly addressed urgent issues, including enhancing coordination among parliaments to maintain ceasefires and promote peacebuilding. These outcomes continue to affirm the increasingly important role of parliamentary diplomacy in promoting dialogue, enhancing understanding, and international cooperation.
The Vietnamese delegation, led by National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man, actively participated and made substantial contributions to the overall success of the General Assembly.
In his speech at the General Debate, the National Assembly Chairman highlighted comprehensive assessments of the world situation with unprecedented complex developments. In this context, the Chairman stated that the international community still has grounds to trust and hope for the future by cooperating and uniting globally and regionally, with practical actions from each nation, based on the rule of law and for peace and development.
The National Assembly Chairman proposed three strategic enhancements for cooperation among parliaments, including: Promoting dialogue and building trust; establishing legal frameworks and overseeing the implementation of international commitments; and ensuring fair and equal law enforcement. On this occasion, the Chairman highlighted Vietnam's achievements after 40 years of Doi Moi and the development goals for the new era set by the 14th Party Congress and the 16th National Assembly.
Alongside the activities of the National Assembly Chairman, the Vietnamese delegation actively participated in sessions of the IPU Executive Committee, IPU Standing Committees, the Forum of Women Parliamentarians, the Forum of Young Parliamentarians, the Association of Secretaries General of Parliaments (ASGP), the Asia-Pacific Geopolitical Group (APG), the ASEAN 3 Group; attended the Seminar on the Hanoi Convention on Cybercrime, and made direct contributions to many documents of the General Assembly.
Also, at this IPU-152 General Assembly, under the rotational mechanism, Vietnam assumed the role of Chair of the ASEAN 3 Group at the upcoming IPU-153 General Assembly. Vietnam proposed initiatives to enhance the resilience and strategic autonomy of the economy, emphasizing the role of parliaments in improving the legal framework, supporting businesses, and centering on the people.
Vietnam's messages and proposals received considerable attention, positive evaluations, and agreement from many member parliaments and delegates, contributing to affirming Vietnam's image as an active and responsible partner in promoting parliamentary cooperation and strengthening multilateralism.
Moreover, the National Assembly Chairman held numerous bilateral meetings with parliamentary leaders from various countries, thereby enhancing political trust and promoting cooperation in various fields such as economy, trade, investment, science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, and defense and security.
Partners congratulated the success of the 14th Party Congress and the 16th National Assembly election, congratulated the newly elected Party and State leaders, highly appreciated Vietnam's role and contributions in multilateral mechanisms, including the IPU, and expressed their desire to continue strengthening bilateral cooperation in general and with the Vietnamese National Assembly in particular.
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| Deputy Foreign Minister Dang Hoang Giang. (Photo: Bao Chi) |
Deputy Minister, could you evaluate the most notable achievements of the recent working visit of the National Assembly Chairman to Italy and Turkey? What key measures will Vietnam and its partner countries prioritize in the near future to further strengthen bilateral relations?
Alongside activities at the IPU, this visit holds significant importance in implementing the foreign policy of the 14th Party Congress, continuing to concretize Vietnam's consistent policy of strengthening and deepening relations with important partners, including European countries and the Middle East region, contributing to creating a favorable external environment and leveraging international support and resources to realize the country's development goals in the new era. Some notable outcomes can be summarized as follows:
First, increased political trust. The visit marked a clear new step forward, promoting relations between Vietnam and the two countries in the coming time. State, National Assembly, and local leaders of both countries expressed special regard for the visit. Notably, Italy reaffirmed Vietnam as a reliable partner with significant cooperation potential, committing to continue supporting Vietnam in strengthening relations with the European Union (EU); while Turkey expressed a desire to elevate bilateral relations, viewing Vietnam as an important partner in the Asia-Pacific region.
Through the visit to the two countries, cooperation between legislative bodies was significantly enhanced. The National Assembly Chairman of Vietnam and the Presidents of the Italian and Turkish Parliaments agreed to maintain regular exchanges of delegations between parliamentary leaders and legislative bodies of the two countries to enhance mutual understanding, share legislative experiences, improve institutional frameworks, and coordinate oversight of the implementation of agreements and commitments across all fields.
Second, economy, trade, and investment were focal points of this visit, creating a strong qualitative shift. Italy agreed that both sides should better leverage the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) to enhance Vietnam-EU connectivity. Italy continues to support promoting EU countries to ratify the Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and lift the IUU yellow card on Vietnamese seafood. Regarding Turkey, both sides agreed to promote expanding trade scale towards more balance, exploring the possibility of initiating Free Trade Agreement negotiations, thereby effectively exploiting the complementary nature of the two economies and each country's gateway position in the region.
Business promotion and connection activities, including seminars with the participation of hundreds of businesses, have contributed to opening up many specific cooperation opportunities in the near future. On this occasion, several ministries and sectors signed memorandums of understanding in related cooperation fields.
Third, the visit created new momentum to promote cooperation in many potential fields such as defense-security, education-training, culture, and people-to-people exchanges; while expanding into new areas such as innovation, artificial intelligence, green transformation, and energy transition. For Italy, both sides agreed to consider science-technology and innovation as one of the priority cooperation pillars in the coming period; for Turkey, cooperation in industries, infrastructure, logistics, and tourism was identified as promising directions.
On this occasion, the National Assembly Chairman's meetings with the Pope and the Vatican Prime Minister were events of significant meaning. In meetings with the Pope and the Vatican Prime Minister, both sides were pleased to see that relations between Vietnam and the Holy See have achieved important and substantive progress, from high-level meetings between leaders of both sides to the establishment of the Holy See's Permanent Representative Office in Vietnam, and especially the positive development in the religious life of the Vietnamese Catholic community, the maintenance of exchange mechanisms, and the effective operation of the Joint Working Group.
Both sides will continue to pay attention to and further consolidate mutual trust and understanding, aiming towards establishing full diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the Holy See and the Pope's visit to Vietnam at the invitation of General Secretary, President To Lam.
In the near future, Vietnam's ministries, sectors, and relevant agencies will closely coordinate with partners to concretize and effectively implement the agreements reached; enhance exchanges of delegations at all levels; effectively utilize existing cooperation mechanisms; and promote cooperation in new, strategic fields such as green transformation, digital transformation, science-technology, and innovation.
The parties will also continue to enhance coordination at regional and international forums, thereby contributing to making the relations between Vietnam and its partners increasingly substantive, effective, and sustainable, for the benefit of the peoples of the parties, as well as for common peace, stability, and development.
Thank you, Deputy Minister!
