Politburo member and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man led a high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese National Assembly to pay an official visit to Laos and attend the 45th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA 45) from October 17 to 19, 2024 at the invitation of Lao National Assembly Chairman and AIPA President Saysomphone Phomvihane.
According to VNA, the delegation included: Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Thanh; Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly Vu Hai Ha; Chairman of the Culture and Education Committee of the National Assembly Nguyen Dac Vinh, Chairman of the Vietnam - Laos Friendship Association; Chairman of the Law Committee of the National Assembly Hoang Thanh Tung; Head of People's Petitions Duong Thanh Binh; Head of Delegation Affairs Nguyen Thanh Hai; State Auditor General Ngo Van Tuan; Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the People's Council of Long An province Nguyen Van Duoc; Secretary of the Quang Nam Provincial Party Committee Luong Nguyen Minh Triet; Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Nguyen Minh Tam.
This is the first official visit to Laos by National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man as head of the legislative body. The visit is the concretization of the High-level Agreement between the two Politburoes at the Meeting between the two Politburoes of Vietnam and Laos and the Vietnam-Laos Joint Statement within the framework of the state visit to Vietnam by General Secretary and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith (September 2024) and the state visit to Laos by President To Lam (July 2024).
The visit once again affirms the consistent policy of our Party and State to always give the highest priority and attach importance to developing the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos; affirms Vietnam's strong and comprehensive support for the cause of innovation, protection and construction of Laos; and at the same time demonstrates the trust and closeness between the high-ranking leaders of the two countries as well as between our National Assembly Chairman and the Lao National Assembly Chairman personally.
The participation of National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and the high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese National Assembly in AIPA 45 is of great significance, on the one hand demonstrating the proactive, active participation and responsible contribution of the Vietnamese National Assembly and the parliaments of member countries to consolidate the central role, solidarity and unity in ASEAN, promote intra-bloc cooperation, expand multi-faceted relations with parliaments in and outside the region; promote the responsibility and role of AIPA for peace, stability and development, and at the same time put forward many valuable initiatives to share and support the Governments of ASEAN countries in resolving priority issues of the region.
On the other hand, by proactively and actively participating in making substantial contributions to the content of AIPA, it demonstrates the support of the Vietnamese National Assembly for the Lao National Assembly to successfully assume its international responsibilities in 2024, including successfully assuming the role of ASEAN/AIPA Chair and successfully organizing the 45th AIPA General Assembly.
