The 132nd Assembly of the Inter-Parliament Union (IPU-132) is an opportunity for Vietnamese nationals and the National Assembly (NA) to show its friendship, solidarity and cooperative spirit with parliamentarians and people from all over the world, said NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung.

He co-chaired an international press conference with IPU President Saber Chowdhury in Hanoi on March 26 to introduce the event’s agenda.

The IPU-132 is an important milestone in Vietnam’s diplomatic history as well as a significant political event showing the country’s active international integration as a responsible member of the world community, he said.

He revealed that thus far, Vietnam has received attendance confirmation from more than 160 delegations from member, associated and observation parliaments as well as international organisations.

Chowdhury said Vietnam is playing an increasingly important role in the world and has been widely recognised for its achievements in realising the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The IPU currently has 166 members with over 47,000 parliamentarians representing 6.5 billion people in the world, he noted, adding that the IPU-132 hosted by Hanoi will contribute to fostering partnership among parliaments around the globe and helping to realise the common global goals of peace and development.

Expressing his strong impressions of the people and nation of Vietnam, especially the organisation of the event, both Chowdhury and IPU Secretary-General Martin Chungong held that Vietnam set a strong example for hosting the IPU-132.

The event also manifests great contributions of Vietnam to the growth of the union, they agreed while lauding the event’s content and agenda prepared by the host.

Regarding the event’s potential for success, Chowdhury stated that the IPU’s objective is to bring parliaments closer and enhance their cooperation for a peaceful and prosperous world through strengthening dialogues.

The most important thing is to implement common inter-parliamentary agreements, he said.

NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung said the IPU-132 organisation was approved by Vietnam’s top leaders with the active support of the NA, ministries, localities and the IPU Secretariat.

The event, themed “Sustainable development goals: Turning words into action”, will be a chance for Vietnam to review its implementation of MDGs and discuss post-2015 sustainable development goals, he said.

Meanwhile, the event will also focus on improving gender equality through increasing women’s engagement in politics and other areas, as well as improving the living standards of women globally, he said.

He also revealed that the Vietnamese NA plans to promote women in at least 30 percent of total parliament seats.

Another international press conference is scheduled to be held after the IPU-132 concludes to discuss the outcomes of the event.-VNA

Swedish Ambassador highlights agenda for IPU-132

Swedish Ambassador Camilla Mellander has highlighted the issues on the agenda of the 132nd Inter-Parliament Union (IPU-132) Assembly as well as Vietnam’s preparations for the event which opens in Hanoi on March 28.

As a unique forum for parliamentarians from all over the world to dialogue and share experiences, the IPU-132 will play a key role in preparing the parliaments for important milestone meetings such as UN summit on new sustainability development goals in September and the climate change conference in Paris in December, Ambassador Mellander told the Vietnam News Agency in an interview ahead of the IPU-132 meeting.

As the world becomes more and more globalised, global organisation and global cooperation becomes more important, she said.

“The issues on the agenda for IPU-132 reflects this very well – the sustainability development goals, water governance, international law and cyber security are all issues where international cooperation is not only needed, but a prerequisite for action,” she affirmed.

Sustainability issues become more acute for each day. The foundation of a global cooperation to work on this is there, what is missing is concrete action and here the parliaments play a key role, she said.

Ambassador Mellander also spoke of Vietnam’s preparations for the important event, saying “from what I have experienced so far Vietnams is doing an excellent job preparing for this very important meeting. Hosting over 1,200 delegates from more than 150 countries is quite a challenge, she said.

She said she is convinced that “IPU-132 will be a great and successful event for the host Vietnam.”

The IPU-132, themed “Sustainable development goals: Turning words into action”, will be held from March 28 to April 1. It is the biggest multilateral diplomatic event ever held in Vietnam.

Over 1,200 delegates, including high-ranking parliament officials and members of regional inter-parliamentary unions and international organisations worldwide, are scheduled to attend the event.

The delegates will attend 67 sessions, discussing and adopting several draft resolutions on cyber warfare, water governance, and international law in relation with national sovereignty, according to the Organising Committee

The Swedish delegation to the IPU-132 is led by Urban Ahlin (Social democrat), Speaker of the Riksdag (Swedish Parliament). He is accompanied by six parliamentarians from four different political parties. Together they represent Sweden in two committees, the steering committee on the WTO (dubbellkolla) and the committee on Middle East Questions, according to the Ambassador.

NA Chairman welcomes IPU former Secretary-General

Vietnam wants to make contributions to the Inter-parliamentary Union’s (IPU) evaluation of the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the outlining of post-2015 sustainable development goals.

National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung made the statement during a reception for IPU former Secretary-General Anders B. Johnsson in Hanoi on March 26.

At the meeting, the NA Chairman thanked Johnsson for his support to Vietnam in organising the IPU-132 event, saying he hoped to receive the former Secretary-General’s further recommendations in terms of content and agendas during the event.

In addition, the NA leader expressed his desire to receive assistance from the former Secretary-General to enhance international relations and contribute to common development goals.

For his part, Johnsson spoke highly of the preparations for the IPU-132 made by the host country, affirming that the event will be a success in providing participants with positive impressions and promoting the country’s role and positive among the international community.

VNA