Vietnam - an active and responsible member of the Inter-Parliamentary Union

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man. (Photo: Doan Tan/VNA)

At the invitation of President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Tulia Ackson and Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union Martin Chungong, President of the Senate of the Uzbekistani Parliament Tanzila Narbaeva, President of the Armenian Parliament Alen Simonyan, Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man, on behalf of the leaders of the Party and State of Vietnam and his wife, attended the 150th General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU-150), and paid an official visit to the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Republic of Armenia from April 2 to 8, 2025.

Participation in IPU-150 continues to affirm Vietnam's role as a proactive, active and responsible member at IPU as well as at multilateral forums.

IPU - Union for Peace and Cooperation among Peoples

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is an international organization that brings together representatives of the parliaments of sovereign states. The Union was founded in 1889 in Paris (France), on the initiative of two peace-loving parliamentarians, William Cremer (British) and Fréderic Passy (French). The IPU is currently headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

With 181 member parliaments and 15 associate members, the Inter-Parliamentary Union is the center of parliamentary diplomacy around the world, working for peace and cooperation between peoples and parliaments, playing an increasingly important role in the current world situation.

The main objectives of the IPU are to promote exchanges, cooperation and experiences between parliaments and parliamentarians of countries; to consult and express views on issues related to international interests in order to propose actions for parliaments and parliamentarians. The IPU actively contributes to the protection and promotion of human rights worldwide, an essential element for parliamentary democracy and development, raising awareness and enhancing the effectiveness of parliamentary institutions.

The IPU cooperates closely with United Nations mechanisms, regional parliamentary unions, international organizations, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, typically the annual hearings on United Nations issues that attract the participation of most member parliaments.

On the evening of March 11, 2023 in Bahrain, the Vietnamese National Assembly delegation led by Permanent Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man attended the Opening Ceremony of the General Assembly. (Photo: Nguyen Truong/VNA)

The IPU focuses on the following main areas of activity: strengthening representative democracy; promoting global peace and security; promoting sustainable development; promoting humanitarian law and protecting human rights; enhancing the role of women in politics; and enhancing dialogue and exchange in education, science and culture.

Twice a year, the IPU convenes more than 1,500 parliamentarians and parliamentary partners from member countries, bringing diversity to the global agenda, including the work of the United Nations and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The Vietnamese delegation attends the 147th General Assembly and related conferences of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. (Photo: Hong Minh/VNA)

In addition, the IPU also has a special operating mechanism, which takes place every five years, which is the World Conference of Speakers of Parliament (WCSP). The goal of the Conference is to strengthen the global governance capacity of parliaments, and through this parliamentary summit, legislators around the world contribute their common voice with the United Nations to address global issues. Since its first meeting in 2000, the WCSP has held five Conferences.

Over 136 years of formation and development, it can be seen that the IPU has continuously grown, becoming the largest global inter-parliamentary cooperation organization, an important dialogue forum for global parliamentarians to exchange and propose solutions on peace, security, cooperation and development between parliaments of countries.

Through cooperation with regional inter-parliamentary organizations, international organizations, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, the IPU makes increasingly important contributions to all areas of international life, from political and security issues to culture, science and education.

This year, the 150th IPU Assembly has the theme “Parliamentary Action for Development and Social Justice”, similar to the content being discussed at the United Nations, towards the Social Development Summit, scheduled to take place in November 2025 in Qatar.

Vietnam's mark at IPU

Vietnam became an official member of the IPU in April 1979. Since then, Vietnam has always been an active and responsible participant in IPU forums, holding leadership positions in IPU mechanisms many times. These contributions have had a widespread impact and have been highly appreciated by international and regional friends. Through the IPU forum, bilateral relations between the Vietnamese National Assembly and parliaments of other countries have been established and strengthened.

Participating in IPU activities has always been a top priority in the multilateral parliamentary diplomacy activities of the Vietnamese National Assembly to promote and protect national interests, consult international views and express national views on common global concerns; at the same time, conduct bilateral activities on the sidelines with partners where Vietnam rarely has the opportunity to carry out official bilateral activities.

These activities have contributed to promoting information about Vietnam to many international friends, raising Vietnam's position in the international arena. This is also where Vietnam can access many issues, contents, operational experiences and good practices of parliaments around the world to contribute to the completion and improvement of the quality of activities of the Vietnamese National Assembly.

Vietnam's outstanding achievements in the IPU include successfully hosting the 132nd IPU Assembly (2015) and the 9th Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians in Hanoi (2023).

Seminar on 'Enhancing digital capacity for youth' within the framework of the 9th Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians in Hanoi. (Photo: Minh Duc/VNA)

The 132nd IPU General Assembly in Hanoi (March 2015) was held in the context of the United Nations launching an initiative to build a sustainable development program and the Vietnamese National Assembly actively participated with many outstanding contributions. At IPU-132, parliaments issued the Hanoi Declaration "Sustainable Development Goals: Turning Words into Actions."

This Declaration was conveyed to the United Nations Summit held in September 2015 and this is a very important contribution for the United Nations to build and promulgate the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

In September 2023, Vietnam continued to successfully organize the 9th Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians in Hanoi, attracting the participation of more than 300 young parliamentarians. The Conference adopted the Conference Declaration on "The role of youth in promoting the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals through digital transformation and innovation." This is the first Declaration of the Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians after 9 sessions.

Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs Committee Nguyen Manh Tien with Ambassador Mai Phan Dung - Head of the Vietnamese Delegation in Geneva and delegates of the Vietnamese delegation attending the 149th IPU General Assembly. (Photo: Anh Hien/VNA)

In addition to hosting IPU conferences, the Vietnamese National Assembly has also regularly sent high-level delegations led by the National Assembly Chairman or Permanent Vice Chairman to attend IPU General Assembly and World Conference of Speakers of Parliaments (WCSP) since 2000. Through the IPU forum, bilateral relations between the Vietnamese National Assembly and parliaments of other countries have been established and strengthened.

The participation of National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man, on behalf of the leaders of the Party and State of Vietnam and his wife at the 150th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU-150), continues to affirm Vietnam's role as a proactive, active and responsible member of the IPU as well as multilateral forums, contributing to multilateralism, international cooperation and solidarity, promoting Vietnam's role and position in regional and international parliamentary cooperation mechanisms. Through its participation in IPU-150, Vietnam continues to maintain and promote relations with IPU member countries and parliaments.

It is expected that at this General Assembly, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man will deliver an important speech on the vision of the Vietnamese National Assembly for a developed and equitable world, and will have many meetings with heads of parliaments of other countries to discuss cooperation between Vietnam and partner countries, demonstrating the foreign policy of peace, independence, self-reliance, diversification, multilateralization, being both a friend and a reliable partner, and a responsible member of the international community./.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/viet-nam-thanh-vien-tich-cuc-co-trach-nhiem-tai-lien-minh-nghi-vien-the-gioi-post1023789.vnp