A delegation from the Vietnamese National Assembly took part in the 124th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU 124) in Panama from April 15-20.

The IPU 124 in Panama (source: internet)

The IPU 124, themed “Parliamentary accountability: living up to people’s expectations”, focused on improving the role of the parliament, issues on peace and security, finance and trade with sustainable development, as well as issues on democracy and human rights.

The Vietnamese delegation actively and proactively joined activities during the event, including the plenary meeting of the IPU 124 and the 260th meeting of the IPU Executive Committee. The delegation hosted an ASEAN+3 meeting and participated in the meetings of the Asia-Pacific Group (APG) and the Development Partner Group on Gender Equality.

Speaking at the IPU 124 plenary session, the Vietnamese delegation head, Nguyen Van Son, Chairman of the NA’s Committee for External Relations, briefed the assembly on Vietnam ’s renewal process and stressed high unanimity with the theme of the IPU 124.

Besides the role of each national parliament, the regional and international inter-parliamentary mechanism has made important contributions to enhancing the parliamentary accountability in order to meet people’s expectations, especially in the face of complicated developments of the current political and socio-economic situation, he said.

After affirming the role and responsibility of the Vietnamese NA in meeting the demands of the people in Vietnam in particular and in ASEAN in general through the successful organisation of the 31st General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-31), Son suggested the IPU continue strengthening coordination with regional parliamentary mechanisms and combining activities among these mechanisms to maximise the role of the parliament in addressing global political and socio-economic challenges.

The IPU 124, which drew the participation of 150 member parliamentary delegations, issued a political declaration calling for global emergency support for Japan following the devastating earthquake and tsunami, in order to reduce the impacts of the disaster on the region and the world.

It also discussed parliamentary actions to strengthen nations’ right to self-determination in the framework of international laws and issued a resolution on enhancing democratic reforms in emerging democracies, including North Africa and the Middle East.

During the stay in Panama, the Vietnamese delegation met with parliamentarians from host Panama, Cuba, Cambodia, the Republic of Korea, Japan, France, Belgium, South Africa, Chile, Venezuela and Switzerland.