NA Chairman's opening speech at 9th Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians

The following is the full text of his speech.

SPEECH
OF PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY VUONG DINH HUE
AT THE OPENING SESSION OF THE 9TH GLOBAL CONFERENCE OF YOUNG PARLIAMENTARIANS
At 09:00 on September 15, 2023 at the National Convention Center
Duration: 10 minutes

- Comrades, leaders of the Party and State,
- Mr. Duarte Pacheco, President of the Inter - Parliamentary Union,
- Mr. Martin Chungong, Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,
- Mr. Dan Carden, President of the Board of the IPU Forum of Young Parliamentarians,
          - Dear delegates, distinguished guests,
- Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my great pleasure to speak on behalf of the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Vietnamese people, to warmly welcome the President, the Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), and the President of the Board of the IPU Forum of Young Parliamentarians, parliamentary delegations of IPU member countries and observer countries, and distinguished guests to the 9th Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians held in Hanoi – a City for Peace and the thousand-year-old capital city of Vietnam.

Vietnam proposed to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) to become the host country of the 9th GCYP and it is our great honor and pride to be chosen as one. Building upon the success of the 132nd IPU Assembly in 2015, the 26th ASIA – PACIFIC PARLIAMENTARY FORUM (APPF) Meeting in 2018 and the 41st AIPA General Assembly (2020), the Vietnam National Assembly hosting this year GCYP continues to affirm Vietnam's active, proactive and responsible participation in the IPU. At the same time, it shows Vietnam's priority and interest in the youth and the global issues facing the youth today.

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
After 37 years of implementing Reform - Doi Moi, since 1986, Vietnam has made important, comprehensive and historic achievements.
- Vietnam has created miracles in building new rural areas and reducing poverty sustainably, making it a shining example of implementing the UN’s Millennium Goals and the Sustainable Development Agenda (SDGs) to 2030.
- Vietnam has committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
- Economic growth maintains its strong momentum of about 6%/year.
- GDP in 2022 at current prices ranks 38th in the world and if calculated by purchasing power parity (PPP), according to the IMF, it ranks 10th in Asia and 24th in the world.
- Total trade turnover in 2022 reached nearly 735 billion USD, among the Top 20 countries globally.
- Vietnam is also very successful in attracting FDI. To date there are more than 37,000 investment projects from 143 countries and territories with a total registered capital of nearly 450 billion USD.

Vietnam has identified two development goals for the two 100th anniversaries.
- By 2030 (the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of Vietnam): Vietnam will become a developing country with modern industry and upper-middle income;
- By 2045 (the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam) will become a developed, high-income country.

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
We have entered the third decade of the 21st century with countless unpredictable upheavals.
- For the first time, the whole world suffered from a Covid-19 pandemic of unprecedented scale, incurring losses far exceeding all predictions.
- It can be said that never before has the international political, economic and security environment faced so many difficulties and challenges as it is today.
- The enduring and complex impact of the pandemic, combined with geopolitical tensions and conflicts; strategic competition and separation; fluctuations and instability in the food, energy, financial and monetary markets; declined investment, disruption of supply chains... have reverted many poverty reduction and development achievements over the past decades and have caused enormous, multi-dimensional difficulties both in the immediate and long term for many countries around the world.
- The implementation of the United Nations' SDGs Sustainable Development Agenda is slowing down, making it difficult to achieve the goals.
- In addition, non-traditional security issues, especially the negative impacts of climate change, are directly afflicting the people, the security and development of every country.

However, we still have the right to be optimistic and hopeful about the future.
- Peace, cooperation and development are still the major overarching trend.
- The world has overcome the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic does not make us collapse, but makes us more united and stronger.
- The trends of digital transformation, green transformation, and innovation are being promoted widely.
- While globalization is partly hindered, a series of new economic linkage and cooperation initiatives at both regional and global levels continue to be accelerated.
- A world without war and humanity free from poverty is the common aspiration and purpose of cooperation efforts globally.

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
With the theme "The role of youth in accelerating the achievement of the SDGs through digital transformation and innovation" and 3 thematic discussion sessions on (i) Digital transformation , (ii) Innovation and startup and (iii) Promoting respect for cultural diversity in support of sustainable development, may I suggest some topics for discussion as follows:
Firstly, what needs to be done and how to do so in order to comply with and uphold international law and the United Nations Charter, which is key to preserving and promoting peace, cooperation and sustainable development.

Second, what are the roles of developed countries, international organizations, the business community and the youth in responding to such global interests as: sustainable and safe digital transformation; just energy transition, climate change adaptation, and strong promotion of entrepreneurship and innovation.

Third, for people and businesses to truly be the center of all decisions in the development process, the goal, the driving force and the basic resource of all resources, what should we continue to do and how can we do that in our planning, laws enforcement and implementation processes (to ensure the happiness of the people).

Fourth, how can we promote cultural and human values in our pursuit of sustainable development; promote respect for cultural diversity in the context of the 4th industrial revolution; strengthen cooperation in reforming the ways to operate the economy, increase labor productivity, create new driving forces for economic growth, and at the same time, improve transparency and effectiveness of the public sector in their digitalization efforts, narrow the development gap and ensure national sovereignty as well as personal privacy in cyberspace.
Fifth, I suggest that IPU consider establishing a network of global young parliamentarians on innovation as a platform for knowledge and experience sharing.

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
President Ho Chi Minh - the genius leader of the Vietnamese people, the world’s excellent cultural celebrity, refers to the image of Spring - the most beautiful season of the year – when he talked about the youth: "A year begins with Spring. A life begins with youth. The youth is the Spring of the society.” He also affirmed: "Youth are the future owners of the country. A country's prosperity, downfall, weakness or strength largely depends on the youth. Youth and young people are the key force shouldering the historic mission and responsibility of integration and development in each country and the common prosperity of the world at large.

I believe that each young parliamentarian from IPU member parliaments will make full and effective use of their intelligence, youth, creativity, responsibility and enthusiasm to actively contribute to the success of the Conference.
With that conviction, I declare the opening of the 9th Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians.
I wish you all good health and happiness.
I wish all young parliamentarians have productive working days ahead and interesting, memorable experiences in the beautiful and hospitable country of Vietnam!
Thank you very much.