National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man leaves for an official visit to Laos and attends the 45th AIPA General Assembly

Early in the afternoon of October 17, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man led a high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese National Assembly to leave Hanoi for an official visit to the Lao People's Democratic Republic and to attend the 45th General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of Southeast Asian Nations (AIPA-45) from October 17-19, 2024 at the invitation of Chairman of the National Assembly of the Lao People's Democratic Republic and AIPA President Saysomphone Phomvihane.

Farewell ceremony for National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man at Noi Bai International Airport. Photo: Thong Nhat/VNA

The delegation included: Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Thanh; Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly Vu Hai Ha; Chairman of the Culture and Education Committee of the National Assembly Nguyen Dac Vinh, Chairman of the Vietnam - Laos Friendship Association; Chairman of the Law Committee of the National Assembly Hoang Thanh Tung; Head of the People's Aspirations Committee Duong Thanh Binh; Head of the Delegation Work Committee Nguyen Thanh Hai; State Auditor General Ngo Van Tuan; Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the People's Council of Long An province Nguyen Van Duoc; Secretary of the Quang Nam Provincial Party Committee Luong Nguyen Minh Triet; Vietnamese Ambassador to the Lao People's Democratic Republic Nguyen Minh Tam.

This is the first official visit to the Lao People's Democratic Republic by National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man as head of the legislature. The visit is the concretization of the High-Level Agreement between the two Politburoes at the Meeting between the two Politburoes of Vietnam and Laos and the Vietnam-Laos Joint Statement within the framework of the State visit to Vietnam by General Secretary and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith (September 2024) and the State visit to Laos by President To Lam (July 2024).

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man leaves for an official visit to Laos and to attend AIPA-45. Photo: Thong Nhat / VNA

The visit once again affirms the consistent policy of our Party and State to always give the highest priority and attach importance to developing the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos; affirms Vietnam's strong and comprehensive support for the cause of innovation, protection and construction of Laos; and at the same time demonstrates the trust and closeness between the two countries' senior leaders as well as between our National Assembly Chairman and the Lao National Assembly Chairman personally.

The participation of National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and the high-ranking delegation of the National Assembly of Vietnam in AIPA-45 is of great significance, on the one hand, demonstrating the proactive, active participation and responsible contribution of the National Assembly of Vietnam and the parliaments of member countries in consolidating the central role, solidarity and unity in ASEAN, promoting intra-bloc cooperation, expanding multi-faceted relations with parliaments in and outside the region; promoting the responsibility and role of AIPA for peace, stability and development, and at the same time proposing many valuable initiatives to share and support the Governments of ASEAN countries in resolving priority issues of the region. On the other hand, through proactive and active participation and substantial contribution to the content of AIPA, it demonstrates the support of the National Assembly of Vietnam for the Lao National Assembly to successfully assume its international responsibilities in 2024, including successfully assuming the role of ASEAN/AIPA Chair and successfully organizing the AIPA-45 General Assembly.

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