On October 8th, the 153rd General Assembly of the Inter- Parliamentary Union (IPU-153) in Arusha, Tanzania, continued its sessions and discussions.
Notably, IPU-153 officially welcomed the Parliament of Naoero (Nauru) as its 184th member and adopted the Resolution “Inclusive Social Development for All: Parliamentary Strategies to Promote Rights and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities.”
The resolution affirms that the inclusion of persons with disabilities is a matter of human rights, equality, and democratic representation; emphasizes the responsibility of parliaments in improving legislation , ensuring budget allocation, and monitoring the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD); calls for the elimination of discrimination and legal barriers and ensuring the meaningful participation of persons with disabilities in policymaking, elections, and parliamentary activities; enhances the accessibility of persons with disabilities to infrastructure, education, employment, public services, and technology applications; and proposes promoting inter-parliamentary cooperation, sharing experiences, providing technical assistance, and establishing a permanent mechanism on persons with disabilities within the IPU.
Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Hong Dien continued to attend meetings within the framework of IPU-153 and held meetings and exchanges with IPU President Tulia Ackson, IPU Secretary General Anda Filip, First Vice President of the Cambodian Senate Ouch Borith, and Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Lao National Assembly Khaykhamphithoune Phoxay.
Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Hong Dien thanked IPU President Tulia Ackson and the Tanzanian Parliament for hosting IPU-153, and acknowledged Ms. Tulia Ackson’s contributions during her term as IPU President; he requested that Ms. Ackson, as former Speaker of the Tanzanian Parliament, support the promotion of economic, trade, and investment relations between Vietnam and Tanzania commensurate with the good political relations between the two countries.
IPU President Tulia Ackson thanked Vietnam for its cooperation with the IPU and for its support and respect for IPU values; appreciated the current high percentage of female National Assembly deputies in Vietnam, which is higher than the world average; expressed her hope that the Vietnamese National Assembly would consider hosting IPU events in the future; and affirmed the IPU’s readiness to support capacity building for National Assembly deputies through specially designed programs and its willingness to cooperate in specific areas such as the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in parliamentary activities.
IPU Secretary-General Anda Filip expressed his close and affectionate relationship with Vietnam; thanked Vietnam for supporting his appointment as IPU Secretary-General; expressed his positive impression of having collaborated in organizing important events such as the 132nd IPU General Assembly and the 9th Global Forum of Young Parliamentarians in Vietnam; and affirmed his commitment to continue close cooperation to strengthen the relationship and ties between the IPU and the Vietnamese National Assembly.
Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Hong Dien congratulated Ms. Anda Filip on being trusted and supported by other countries to assume the position of Secretary-General of the IPU and expressed support for Ms. Filip’s leadership role within the IPU; he requested support for the Vietnamese National Assembly to enhance its legislative and supervisory capacity, strengthen its participation in specialized mechanisms of the IPU, and coordinate the organization of thematic activities and forums in Vietnam.
Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament Sahiba Gafarova expressed her pleasure at the upgrading of the two countries’ Strategic Partnership during the visit of General Secretary and President To Lam in May 2025, and on that basis hoped that Vietnam would support her candidacy for the position of IPU President for the 2026-2029 term, noting that she is the first representative of the Eurasian Geopolitical Group at the IPU.
Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Hong Dien highly appreciated Ms. Gafarova’s candidacy and leadership capabilities, and invited her and other leaders of the Azerbaijani Parliament to visit Vietnam soon.
During a meeting with the First Vice President of the Cambodian Senate, Ouch Borith, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Hong Dien conveyed greetings and an invitation to visit Vietnam from General Secretary and President To Lam to the President of the Cambodian Senate, Samdech Techo Hun Sen. He stated that he highly values the organization of commemorative activities in 2027 to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations; assessed that the relationship between the two countries has always developed well in recent years and proposed that the National Assemblies of the two countries continue to cooperate closely to promote trade and investment cooperation in all fields.
First Vice President of the Cambodian Senate, Ouch Borith, expressed his delight at the traditionally good development of relations between the two countries in recent times, affirming his continued affection for Vietnam and suggesting that the two countries should continue to promote economic, trade, and investment cooperation and open up convenient customs clearance routes for goods from each side to access the other’s market.
The Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Lao National Assembly, Khaykhamphithoune Phoxay, respectfully thanked the Vietnamese leaders for their greetings and congratulations, affirming that they will effectively coordinate to implement high-level delegation exchanges and continue to strengthen cooperative relations between the two National Assemblies in the future.
Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Hong Dien congratulated Laos on having its new Prime Minister Saleumxay Kommasith and its new National Assembly Chairman Sonexay Siphandone; affirmed the importance of the special friendship and solidarity between the two countries; and highly appreciated the close coordination between the two countries in preparing for the visit of Prime Minister Le Minh Hung (October 8-9).
Concluding their activities within the framework of IPU-153, on the evening of October 8th, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Hong Dien, along with the high-level delegation of the Vietnamese National Assembly, departed Tanzania for home.
Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/dai-hoi-dong-ipu-153-ket-nap-nauru-va-thuc-day-trao-quyen-cho-nguoi-khuyet-tat-post1140855.vnp
