The farewell ceremony for the National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man (C) and his spouse (L) upon their departure for the 6th World Conference of Speakers of Parliament of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and official visits to Senegal and Morocco. (Photo: Le Tuyet/VOV)

Chairman Man’s trip implements Vietnam’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification, multilateralization, and proactive, comprehensive, intensive, and effective international integration.

Enhancing cooperation with African countries

Chairman Man will visit Senegal from Tuesday to Thursday, the highest-level visit since Vietnam and Senegal established diplomatic relations in 1967.
Vietnamese Ambassador in Algeria and Senegal, Tran Quoc Khanh (Photo: Vietnamese Embassy in Algeria)
Vietnamese Ambassador to Algeria and Senegal Tran Quoc Khanh said: “The trip is expected to open up cooperation opportunities for trade, agriculture, science, technology, and more, and will strengthen collaboration between Vietnam and Senegal within multilateral cooperation forums. Recently, Senegal actively supported Vietnam’s bid to have the Yen Tu-Con Son-Kiep Bac heritage site recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site. This is a concrete example of cooperation between the two nations at international forums.”
Morocco, a North African country bordering both the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, has strong advantages in tourism and is the second-largest financial hub in Africa. Chairman Man’s visit to Morocco will open up cooperation opportunities, particularly in the Halal industry, tourism, and the preservation of heritages.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dang Hoang Giang said: “The visits are expected to open a new phase in relations between Vietnam and Senegal, Morocco, and Africa as a whole. Besides political ties, we aim to promote substantive relations in economy, trade, investment, tourism, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges.”
Deputy Foreign Minister Dang Hoang Giang (Photo: VNA)
Vietnamese National Assembly’s responsibility in global cooperation
A key activity of Chairman Man’s trip is to attend the World Conference of Speakers of Parliament of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Switzerland. This major parliamentary diplomacy event will be attended by representatives from 120 countries, including 100 Speakers of Parliament and National Assemblies. This year’s Conference is themed “A world in turmoil: Parliamentary cooperation and multilateralism for peace, justice and prosperity for all”.

At the conference, Chairman Man will introduce Vietnam’s policies, especially its cooperative approach to peace and sustainable development. He will also hold bilateral meetings with the President and Secretary General of the IPU, and with a number of Speakers of Parliament and National Assemblies.

Chairman Man will pay an official visit to Switzerland to convey Vietnam’s consistent policy of valuing and promoting its Comprehensive Partnership with Switzerland, enhance cooperation in areas where Switzerland has strengths and Vietnam has needs, push for a Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), and reaffirm Vietnam’s readiness to bridge Switzerland-ASEAN ties.

The top legislator’s trip underscores Vietnam’s strong commitment to multilateralism and affirms the active role of the Vietnamese National Assembly in jointly tackling urgent global issues. The trip also opens up prospects for more substantive and effective cooperation with Senegal, Morocco, and Switzerland.