National Assembly Chairwoman and Chair of the 41st AIPA General Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (centre) at the launch ceremony of the website, mobile app, and identifier of the AIPA Chair Year 2020. (Photo: VNA)
In 2020, Vietnam assumes the role of non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, ASEAN Chairman, and the country’s National Assembly (NA) assumes the role of Chairman of AIPA.
This is the 3rd time that the Vietnamese NA assumes AIPA Chairmanship, after 2002 and 2010. This year is the first time in history that the AIPA will be held online.
The AIPA 2020 Chairmanship started in October 2019. Since then, along with the Vietnamese Government's activities, the Vietnamese NA has carried out many online parliamentary diplomacy activities, demonstrating its responsibility as AIPA President.
On March 30, NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, as AIPA's Chairperson, sent a letter to the AIPA member Parliament Speakers to share the losses caused by COVID-19 pandemic, and call on the AIPA member parliaments to unite, strengthen actions, and accompany the Governments in dealing with the pandemic.
Representatives of the Vietnamese NA have participated in many online meetings with the AIPA member parliaments and with IPU to promote the parliamentary role in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In order to ease the difficulties of parliaments of the countries severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, together with the efforts and contributions of the Government, in May, the NA and NA Chairwoman presented masks and medical supplies to nearly 40 countries, including AIPA member parliaments such as Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines and Malaysia, and the AIPA Secretariat.
In the framework of ASEAN Summit 36 in the form of online meeting, on June 26, the dialogue session between ASEAN leaders and AIPA was held successfully, contributing to implementing the tasks of Vietnam’s ASEAN President Year and the AIPA Chairmanship, which was highly appreciated by the ASEAN member countries’ parliaments.
The Vietnamese NA successfully hosted the 3rd AIPA Advisory Council on Dangerous Drugs (AIPA CODD 3) on June 29, 2020, and the Parliamentary Partnership on Educational and Cultural Cooperation for Sustainable Development (AIPA ECC) on July 30 in Hanoi.
In the year of President of AIPA 2020, the important task of the host country’s NA is to successfully organize the 41st AIPA. This is an important highlight in the foreign affairs of the 14th National Assembly, contributing to heightening Vietnam's achievements in State diplomacy and parliamentary diplomacy.
The 41st AIPA agenda, in 3 days from September 8-10, is expected to discuss political issues relating to the East Sea and the Korean Peninsula./.