NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (right) and IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong

Meeting with the IPU Secretary General on September 30 on the sidelines of the 37th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-37) in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, the Vietnamese NA leader appreciated the important role played by Martin Chungong in the IPU.

She expressed her belief that with over 20 years of experience working at the IPU’s secretariat, Martin Chungong will assist the IPU and its member parliaments in striving for the goals of peace, democracy, cooperation and sustainable development.

Secretary General Martin Chungong spoke highly of the Vietnamese NA’s contributions to the IPU, especially its hosting of the IPU 32, saying that the Hanoi Declaration has reflected commitments of IPU’s member nations to promoting the realisation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) after 2015.

Congratulating Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan on her election as the new leader of the Vietnamese legislature, he hopes Ngan will make significant contributions to the IPU.

Earlier the same day, NA Chairwoman Ngan joined heads of delegations to the AIPA 37 in paying courtesy visits to speaker of the upper house and lower house of Myanmar’s Assembly of the Union and President of AIPA 37 Mann Win Khaing Than.

Singaporean parliament speaker keen on stronger ties with Vietnam

Speaker of the Singaporean Parliament Halimah Yacob has called for further strengthening Vietnam-Singapore ties across the fields, especially ties between the two legislatures and their friendship parliamentarians’ groups. 

She made the proposal during a meeting with her Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan on September 30 on the sidelines of the 37 th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-37). 

The Speaker also congratulated Vietnam on successfully holding the election of deputies to the 14 th NA and the People’s Councils at all levels for 2016-2021. 

On the occasion, she also invited Ngan to visit Singapore in the near future. 

National Assembly Chairwoman Ngan, for her part, spoke highly of the growing ties between the two countries, as seen in the regular exchange of visits, most recently Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean’s trip to Vietnam to attend the 20 th founding anniversary of the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP). 

She suggested that the two legislatures continue working closely together in the future, especially at the regional and global forums.

VNA