File photo of the 26th Asia-Pacific Parliament Forum Conference which was held from January 18-21 last year.

At the 280th meeting of the IPU 139 in Geneva, Switzerland, Vietnam was elected IPU vice-president for the term 2018-2019. This represented the credibility of Vietnam at the Asia Pacific Nations’ Parliament and the IPU Executive Committee. In addition, the contributions of Vietnam National Assembly (NA) to the standing committees of the IPU, the IPU Women’s Parliamentary Forum and the Conference of the General Secretary (ASGP) were not only highly appreciated by the delegates, but also demonstrated the active, positive and responsible participation of Vietnam in the IPU, contributing to the overall success of the General Assembly.

In 2018, the Vietnamese NA hosted the 26th Asia-Pacific Parliament Forum Conference (APPF26) from January 18-21, as one of the outstanding and successful events hosted by Vietnam. The event gathered the largest number of parliamentary delegates to Vietnam – 356 international delegates from 22 delegations including 17 top officials of national legislatures.

At present, Qatar is hosting the IPU’s 140th conference in Doha from April 6-10, 2019 under the theme “Parliaments as platforms to enhance education for peace, security and the rule of law”. The Vietnam National Assembly delegation led by the Chairman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan will attend the conference.

Among all the GCC countries, Vietnam has very good relations with Qatar. Last year marked a milestone between Vietnam and Qatar as they celebrated 25 years of friendly relations. During more than 25 years of smooth and rapid development in several prominent areas, Qatari investments in Vietnam have been focused on agriculture, energy, exports and bilateral trade, including Memorandum of Understanding on co-operation in tertiary education, scientific research, banking and investment in 2012, the opening of Qatar National Bank’s office in HCM City in 2015, the 15-year agreement signed by Qatar Petroleum for the sale of 2mn tonnes per year of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and naphtha to Vietnam.

At the IUP 140 in Qatar, the presence of the National Assembly delegation of Vietnam led by Chairman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan is bound to further highlight the role of Vietnam as an active and responsible IPU member, and at the same time contribute to boosting Vietnam-Qatar friendly relations.

Nguyen Dinh Thao ( Ambassador of Vietnam To Qatar )