Vietnam is seen as an active and responsible member of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) with substantive contributions to the IPU Assembly, said Chairman of the National Assembly (NA)’s Committee for External Relations Nguyen Van Giau.
He made the remark during an October 18 interview with Vietnam News Agency following NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan’s participation in the 137th IPU Assembly (IPU 137), themed “Promoting cultural pluralism and peace through inter-faith and inter-ethnic dialogue”, in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
He noted that on the IPU 137’s first working day, Chairwoman Ngan delivered an important speech.
She suggested parliaments around the world create a legal framework on ethnicity and religion, along with a set of criteria to monitor the effectiveness of the framework.
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She called for more attention to communications to popularise tolerance, while calling for the enhancement of bilateral and multilateral cooperation to learn from each other in solving religious, cultural and ethnic issues.
The leader also asked the IPU to work with the United Nations, other international organisations and member parliaments on religious and cultural affairs.
At the IPU 137, the Vietnamese delegation took part in the activities of all IPU committees, the Forum of Women Parliamentarians and the Forum of Young Parliamentarians.
It also co-hosted a panel discussion at the Committee on Sustainable Development, Finance and Trade, focusing on encouraging the private economic sector’s involvement in realising the Sustainable Development Goals.
Giau said IPU President Saber Hossain Chowdhury described Vietnam as an active and responsible IPU member with substantive contributions to the IPU Assembly. He also lauded Vietnam’s contributions in recent years, including holding the IPU 132 in Hanoi in 2015.
On the sidelines of the IPU 137, Chairwoman Ngan met with Chairwoman of the Federation Council of Russia Valentina Ivanovna Matviyenko, Speaker of the Republic of Korea’s National Assembly Chung Sye-kyun, Speaker of the Parliament of Iran Ali Ardeshir Larijani, and Vice Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China Zhang Ping.
Following her attendance at the IPU 137, the top legislator of Vietnam visited Kazakhstan, the first ever official trip to this country by a Vietnamese NA leader, Giau noted.
The Kazakh side applauded bilateral relations in politics, economy, culture, education and other spheres. They recognised the progress in economic links, especially Vietnam’s free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union, to which Kazakhstan is a member, was signed in 2015. Bilateral trade rose from less than US$100 million before the signing to US$370 million in 2016, and is expected to reach US$450 million this year.
Both sides expressed their wish to foster cooperation, including in agriculture, transport, industry, tourism and culture.
The NA leader’s visit to Kazakhstan opened up new cooperation opportunities for the two countries, including their parliaments, Giau added.
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.