National Assembly (NA) Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and a high-ranking delegation from the Vietnamese legislature arrived in Istanbul, the capital city of Turkey, on October 7 afternoon (local time).
During the October 7-12 working trip, the NA leader will attend the third Meeting of Speakers of Eurasian Countries’ Parliaments (MSEAP 3) and visit Turkey at the invitation of Chairman of the State Duma of Russia Vyacheslav Volodin and Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea Moon Hee-sang who are co-chairs of MSEAP and Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Binali Yildirim.
Welcoming NA Chairwoman Ngan and her entourage at the Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul were Vietnamese Ambassador to Turkey Pham Anh Tuan and Vice Governor of Istanbul Bahattin Atci.
MSEAP is a Eurasian parliamentary cooperation mechanism initiated by the Chairman of the State Duma of Russia and the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea. The annual meeting offers a chance for legislative bodies in the region to coordinate for action and improve the role of parliamentary diplomacy. The final document of MSEAP is the Joint Statement signed by heads of the participating delegations.
Vietnam took part in its first edition in Russia in 2016 and the second meeting in the RoK in 2017. This year’s event will convene in Antalya, Turkey under the theme “Economic Cooperation, Environment and Sustainable Development in Eurasia.”
At MSEAP 3, the NA Chairwoman will deliver a speed at the general debate while other members of the Vietnamese delegation will take part in other activities within the framework of the meeting.
Vietnam’s presence at the event shows its active and responsible engagement in multilateral parliamentary diplomacy and continues promoting its role as a player in regional and global parliamentary cooperation mechanisms.
Following MSEAP 3, NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan will begin an official visit to Turkey. This is the first visit made by a top legislator of Vietnam and also the highest-level visit to Turkey.
During the visit, the top Vietnamese legislator will hold talks with her Turkish counterpart Binali Yildirim and meet with senior leaders of the host country, as well as attend a Vietnam-Turkey business and investment seminar which is expected to draw nearly 30 Vietnamese businesses and about 100 Turkish ones.
The visit is of great significance as it aims to continue consolidating and strengthening Vietnam’s friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Turkey in the context of the two countries celebrating the 40th anniversary of their diplomatic ties in 2018. It also marks a new milestone in the relationship between the two legislatures.
Since the two countries set up their diplomatic relations on June 7, 1978, their ties have seen decent progress with the exchange of a number of high-level visits, notably the visit of Deputy NA Chairman Nguyen Duc Kien to Turkey in February 2011 and Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim’s visit to Vietnam in August last year.
Turkey backs the stance of Vietnam and ASEAN countries on the settlement of the East Sea disputes by peaceful means and via dialogue and respect for international law. It shows its support for Vietnam’s bid to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2020-2021.
Turkey is now Vietnam’s leading trade partner in the Middle East. In 2017, two-way trade exceeded US$2.1 billion, of which Vietnam’s exports were valued at US$1.9 billion. In the first half of 2018, the figure was US$970 million with US$843 million worth of exports from Vietnam.
Turkey has been a gateway for Vietnamese key products like rice, rubber, tea, clothing, footwear, electronics, handicrafts and more to enter the Middle East and European Union markets. Meanwhile, Turkey exported to Vietnam steel, building materials, cotton, chemicals and auto parts.
Turkey currently operates 15 FDI projects worth a total of US$704 million in Vietnam, making it the 26th largest foreign investor in the Southeast Asian country.
In June 2016, national flag carrier Turkish Airlines launched direct flights from Istanbul to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Vietnam highly evaluates India’s role and contributions to regional peace, stability and development, and always regards India as one of its most important partners, the top leader said.
The Party and State leaders expressed their profound respect and boundless gratitude to President Ho Chi Minh, who founded and trained the Communist Party of Vietnam and made immense contributions to the Party and nation’s glorious revolutionary cause.
The NA's Committee for Cultural and Social Affairs has moved fast to reshuffle its organisation after the 14th National Party Congress and the election of deputies to the 16th NA, updating its work agenda to match new directives set out in the resolutions of the 14th National Party Congress and the first Congress of the NA Party Organisation for the 2025–2030 term.
Vietnam and Croatia should strive to double bilateral trade turnover from the current level of 161 million USD; study the establishment of a Joint Committee on Economic Cooperation to create a long-term, stable, and effective framework for collaboration, said Prime Minister Le Minh Hung.
Vice President of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) Jesús Faria expressed deep admiration for President Ho Chi Minh and Vietnam’s indomitable struggle for national independence. He described President Ho Chi Minh as an immortal symbol of 20th-century national liberation movements, whose legacy continues to inspire leftist parties, progressive movements, and peoples across Latin America, including Venezuela.
Vietnam National University, Hanoi must rise even further, becoming a leading academic pillar, a major hub of innovation, and a pioneering force in Vietnam’s higher education system; while also serving as a distinguished and reputable representative of Vietnamese intellect on the international stage.
Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Minh Hang shared Vietnam’s approach to building an independent and self-reliant economy linked to deep international integration, while proposing several key areas for enhanced cooperation between BRICS and partner countries at the Expanded BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting that opened on May 14 in India.
The Central Steering Committee for reviewing the one-year operation of the political system’s apparatus and the two-tier local administration model convened its first session in Hanoi on May 14.
PSNews - The spokesperson stated that the dispatch of personnel by relevant parties to features belonging to Truong Sa without Vietnam’s permission constitutes a violation of Vietnam’s sovereignty under international law. She stressed that such actions run counter to the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) as well as ongoing efforts by countries to negotiate a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).
PSNews - Vietnam’s proposals placed the highest priority on ensuring a peaceful and stable environment conducive for continued sustainable development and improving the well-being and happiness of the ASEAN people. They were praised by member states and incorporated into the core contents of the ASEAN Leaders’ Statement on the response to the Middle East crisis.
Both sides emphasised that advancing bilateral relations is a shared strategic choice, and pledged to steadfastly pursue the socialist path and jointly safeguard the socialist regimes and the leadership role of their Communist Parties as their most fundamental common strategic interest, Ambassador He Wei said.
At the meetings, the senior Vietnamese Party official affirmed that Vietnam would continue to work closely with Cambodia to strengthen and deepen bilateral ties, while consistently supporting Cambodia’s peaceful, stable and prosperous development.
Vietnam highly values the support of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in strengthening national capacity in crime prevention and criminal justice, drug control, and addressing emerging challenges, particularly cybercrime, said Ambassador Vu Le Thai Hoang.
NA Chairman Tran Thanh Man underlined that digital transformation must go beyond investing in software or platforms and instead create substantive changes in working methods, advisory quality and operational efficiency.
Consolidating the central steering committees for institutional and legal reform and for judicial reform is necessary in order to streamline organisational structures without reducing responsibilities, while ensuring clear accountability, measurable outputs and concrete results. Following the restructuring, the body will be renamed the central steering committee for institutional improvement and law enforcement, with the Party General Secretary and State President serving as its head.
Bui Thi Minh Hoai was re-elected President of the the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee for the 2026-2031 tenure at the first conference of the 11th-term VFF Central Committee, held before the closing session of its 11th National Congress on May 13 morning in Hanoi.
At the meeting this week, Ambassador Viet briefed the UNGA President on developments during the first two weeks of the conference. He stressed that the current international geopolitical landscape poses numerous complex challenges, while reaffirming Vietnam’s determination, together with other member states, to promote substantive and balanced outcomes at the conference.
The host leader stressed that cooperation between localities, particularly between the capitals of Hanoi and Vientiane, plays an especially important role as a pioneering force in effectively implementing the foreign polices of the two Parties and States, while also serving as a bridge between politics and development, as well as between strategy and concrete action.
More than 1,300 delegates are attending the 11th National Congress of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) for the 2026–2031 tenure, including 1,138 official delegates.
Prime Minister Le Minh Hung praised ministries and agencies for their proactive steps since the beginning of this year and especially from early April to follow the Politburo’s Resolution 57 and Conclusion 18, with clear, positive progress.