Geneva (VNA) – Vietnamese Ambassador Le Thi Tuyet Mai on July 9 met with Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Martin Chungong and handed over medical masks which are a gift from the country’s National Assembly (NA) Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan for the IPU Secretariat.

During the meeting at the IPU headquarters in Geneva (Switzerland), Ambassador Mai, who is head of Vietnam’s permanent mission to the UN, the World Trade Organisation and other international organisations there, affirmed that the Vietnamese NA attaches importance to the IPU’s role and activities in promoting parliamentary diplomacy.

It also highly values the Secretary General’s contributions to the IPU, especially the IPU Secretariat’s activities to support the implementation of the union’s strategies and programmes and enhance the IPU-UN cooperation and partnership, thereby helping to promoting parliaments and parliamentarians’ role and voice in international affairs, she said.

She noted that despite COVID-19-induced difficulties, Vietnam has still been making efforts to fulfil its role as Chair of ASEAN and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA).

Mai also conveyed NA Chairwoman Ngan’s invitation to Secretary General Chungong to attend the online conference on AIPA parliamentary partnership for cultural and educational cooperation for sustainable development, which will be held by the Vietnamese NA on July 30.

The diplomat expressed her honour to, on behalf of the Vietnamese NA leader, present Vietnamese-made medical face masks to the IPU Secretary General and Secretariat to assist anti-COVID-19 efforts, saying the small gift represents the Vietnamese NA’s solidarity and cooperation with the IPU Secretariat.

At the meeting, Chungong spoke highly of connections between the IPU and the Vietnamese NA while applauding enormous achievements that the Vietnamese parliament has obtained not only in the country, but also in contributing to regional and international parliamentary diplomacy.

He said he is impressed with Vietnam’s development in different aspects over the past years, including the successful organisation of the 132nd IPU Assembly in 2015 and the realisation of commitments in the union’s 2015 Hanoi Declaration.

Appreciating the gift from the Vietnamese parliament, he also confirmed his participation in the coming conference hosted by the NA.

Ambassador Mai affirmed that it is an honour for her and Vietnam’s permanent mission in Geneva to serve as a bridge promoting cooperation between the Vietnamese NA and the IPU. They will keep working closely with the IPU Secretariat to step up cooperation activities between the union and the Vietnamese parliament./.