Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam puts great importance on fostering the youth’s development, with more and more young people elected as deputies to the National Assembly (NA) every tenure, said Dinh Cong Sy, Vice Chairman of the NA’s Young Parliamentarians Group, at a global conference on April 28.

Sy is among around 200 young parliamentarians attending the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)’s 7th Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians, themed “Post-COVID-19 recovery: A youth-responsive approach,” held virtually on April 28 – 29.

He cited the fact that Vietnam’s NA adopted the Youth Law last year, and in 2011, established the Young Parliamentarians Group which now consists of 131 members under 45, accounting for 26 percent of total legislators to the 14th NA. The group aims at strengthening connectivity among young legislators and enhancing their engagement and contribution to the NA’s agenda, he said.

He noted that the NA young deputies have been very proactive in law-making, supreme supervision and decision-making, particularly major national affairs while listening to the youth’s opinions and wishes and conveying their expectations to the NA.

They have been also working to assess the impacts of laws and policies on the youth, he said, adding that many opinions and recommendations of young NA members have been taken into account in policy and law making.

Sy held that it is very important to promote youth empowerment and participation in policy and law making and to bolster capacity building to sharpen their leadership skills.

Addressing the launch of the event, IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong said the health and socio-economic shocks brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic have impacted significantly young men and women all around the world. A new chapter for youth empowerment is needed and this new chapter must be at the heart of post-pandemic recovery efforts, he said.

This year’s conference focuses on preserving and fulfilling fundamental youth rights and stepping up youth empowerment across the pandemic recovery efforts; exploring the best means to promote youth participation in shaping youth-responsive recovery; providing guidance on how to reinforce education systems, maximize youth employment, and adjust health services everywhere.

It features four debate sessions, namely “Youth participation: A sine qua non for youth-responsive recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic,” “Supporting higher and university education: A priority of the recovery agenda,” “Healthy youth beyond the pandemic” and “Economic empowerment: Transforming the challenge into an opportunity.”/.