(VOVWORLD) - A Vietnamese delegation led by National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan attended the 137th Inter-Parliamentary Union’s Assembly and related meetings in Saint Petersburg, Russia last week. Vietnam demonstrated its responsibility at the meeting.
 National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan speaks at the opening of the 137th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly’s general debate in Saint Petersburg, Russia(Source: VNA) |
National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan attended the 137th IPU General Assembly at the invitation of the IPU President Saber Chowdhury, Chairwoman of the Federation Council of Russia Valentina Ivanovna Matviyenko, and Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin.
Vietnam works with other countries for peace and development
Vietnam participated in all discussions at the Assembly, including a discussion on the outcomes of the Conference on the Asia-Pacific region’s response to climate change and legislators’ actions held recently in Ho Chi Minh City, and discussions of the IPU Standing Committee and Young Parliamentarians’ Forum. NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan delivered a key note speech themed “Promoting cultural pluralism and peace through inter-faith and inter-ethnic dialogue” at the opening of the 137th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly’s general debate. Ngan said only compassion, sincere dialogues, mutual respect, trust, and understanding can bring peace to the world. Vietnam is a multi-ethnic and multi-religion country. Throughout its history, Vietnam has maintained and promoted the identity of its culture, language, and religions. Ms Ngan said: “In Vietnam, equality between ethnic groups and religions is stated in all Constitutions. In 2013, Vietnam’s NA approved a new Constitution which says Vietnam is a unified country of various ethnic groups who are equal, united, respected and supported. The Constitution prohibits any discrimination against any ethnic or religious group. The State has devised policies that create conditions for ethnic minority groups to contribute to national development. “
To promote cultural pluralism and peace through inter-faith and inter-ethnic dialogue, NA Chairwoman Ngan asked IPU members to review and scrap laws and rules manifesting discrimination to ensure the involvement of people from all walks of life political and economic activities. She urged other countries to build legal frameworks to ensure equal rights for ethnic and religious groups. Ms Ngan said: “The Inter-Parliamentary Union needs to encourage its members to build and fine-tune laws to ensure the equal legal rights of ethnic groups and religions, create a firm foundation for protecting and promoting national culture and religious freedom, and harmonize people’s interests with national interests. At the same time, it’s necessary to increase oversight of Government policies that protect the rights of members of all religions, and ethnic and cultural groups to ensure national unity.”
She called on all countries to join hands to improve public awareness of inter-faith and inter-ethnic dialogue.
A responsible member of IPU
Since it became an IPU member in 1979, the Vietnamese National Assembly has proactively and responsibly contributed to the forum. The Vietnamese National Assembly was the Chair of the Asia Pacific and ASEAN+ 3 Geo-Politics Group within the framework of the IPU in 2006, 2010, and 2016. It was selected to the Executive Committee of the IPU at the IPU General Assembly meeting in Geneva. In 2015, as the Chair of the 132nd IPU General Assembly, the Vietnamese National Assembly successfully hosted the event and adopted the Hanoi Declaration, which contributed significantly to the development of the Agenda 2030 on sustainable development.
The Vietnamese legislative body considers participating in IPU activities a primary task of its external relations.