The 15th National Assembly convened its first session in Hanoi on the morning of July 20, at a time when the country is facing numerous difficulties and challenges from its fourth COVID-19 outbreak.

People around the country have expressed a desire that the leaders of the 2021-2026 tenure take stronger measures to effectively control the pandemic and return life to some semblance of normal.

Vietnam has reported over 105,000 COVID-19 cases since the fourth outbreak began on April 27.

Many localities nationwide have introduced social distancing measures to curb the spread of the virus.

During its session in Hanoi on July 27, the National Assembly mulled over investment policies in the National Target Programme on Sustainable Poverty Reduction and the National Target Programme on New-Style Rural Development for the 2021-2025 period./.