Vietnam attends 146th IPU Assembly opening ceremony

The opening ceremony brought together about 2,000 delegates from nearly 140 countries, including 44 parliament speakers and nearly 30 deputy speakers.

Bahrain Senate President Ali Bin Saleh Alsaleh, IPU President Duarte Pacheco, IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong delivered speeches at the opening ceremony.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also delivered a pre-recorded speech to the meeting.

Taking place from March 11 to 15, the assembly themed Promoting peaceful coexistence and inclusive societies: Fighting intolerance provides a platform for delegates to deliberate, exchange views and galvanize parliamentary action in this domain.

All IPU statutory bodies, including the Governing Council, Standing Committees, Committees on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians and on Middle East Questions, as well as the Forum of Women Parliamentarians and the Forum of Young MPs, will convene during this Assembly.

The assembly is expected to adopt resolutions on the emergency item and on the subject items taken up by the Standing Committee on Peace and International Security entitled Cyberattacks and cybercrimes: The new risks to global security and by the Standing Committee on Sustainable Development entitled Parliamentary efforts in achieving negative carbon balances of forests. 

It will conclude with the adoption of an outcome document on the overall theme of the General Debate.

Before attending the opening ceremony, the Vietnamese delegation led by Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man took part in the ASEAN+3 meeting and the Asia-Pacific geopolitical group meeting, and the meeting of the IPU Forum of Women Parliamentarians.

In the following days, the delegation will attend the general debate of the assembly, the IPU Executive Committee, the Standing Committees, the Forum of Young MPs, and sidelined activities of the gathering.