Standing Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – A
delegation of the National Assembly (NA) led by Standing Vice Chairman Tran
Thanh Man attended the opening of the 207th session of the Inter-Parliamentary
Union (IPU) Governing Council via videoconference on May 24.
The session, chaired by IPU
President Duarte Pacheco, was attended by IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong
and representatives of 135 member parliaments.
Opening the two-day event,
Pacheco said this is the second time the IPU Governing Council has met via
videoconference, following the 206th session in November 2020.
On January 18, the IPU
Executive Committee decided that given the COVID-19 pandemic’s complex
developments and impacts, the 142nd IPU Assembly on May 26 will be teleconferenced
under the theme of “Overcoming the pandemic today and building a better
tomorrow: the role of parliaments”.
Pacheco stressed that despite
the complicated COVID-19 situation around the globe, the IPU and member
parliaments have still maintained their normal activities.
He called on member
parliaments to enhance cooperation to seek solutions to defeat the pandemic and
boost socio-economic recovery.
The IPU President held that
it is necessary to promote the IPU’s presence and effectiveness, complete its
strategies to increase women’s participation in the IPU, and consolidate the
democracy and strength of parliaments around the world.
During the session, delegates
are set to adopt the session’s agenda, the special rules of procedure for the
virtual sessions of the Assembly and standing committees, the summary records
of the Governing Council’s 206th session, the vision of the IPU President and
report on his activities since the 206th session of the Governing Council, the
Annual IPU Impact Report by the Secretary General on the activities of the IPU
in 2020, and the financial results for last year.
The Governing Council will
also elect additional members to the Executive Committee and other IPU bodies./.