National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and his spouse Nguyen Thi Thanh Nga departed from Hanoi early this morning to begin an official visit to Senegal and Morocco, and to attend the 6th World Conference of Speakers of Parliament in Switzerland. The trip runs from July 22 to 30 and includes bilateral engagements in Geneva.

The visits are made at the invitation of El Malick Ndiaye, President of the National Assembly of Senegal; Rachid Talbi Alami, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Morocco; Tulia Ackson, President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU); and Martin Chungong, IPU Secretary General.

Accompanying the Chairman and his spouse are Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai, Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long, Secretary General of the National Assembly and Chairman of the NA Office Le Quang Tung, Chair of the NA Committee for National Defense, Security and Foreign Affairs Le Tan Toi, Chair of the NA Committee for Legal and Judicial Affairs Hoang Thanh Tung, Chair of the NA Committee for Deputies’ Affairs Nguyen Thanh Hai, Standing Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the National Assembly Vu Hai Ha, First Vice Chair of the NA Committee for Economic and Financial Affairs Le Quang Manh, State Auditor General Ngo Van Tuan, Deputy Minister of National Defense Nguyen Truong Thang, and Deputy Minister of Public Security Tran Quoc To.

Also joining the delegation are Vietnamese Ambassadors Tran Quoc Khanh (to Algeria and concurrently accredited to Senegal), Le Kim Quy (to Morocco), Phung The Long (to Switzerland), and Mai Phan Dung (Head of Vietnam’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva), along with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dang Hoang Giang.

The delegation's first stop is Senegal, where the Chairman and his spouse will engage in several key diplomatic activities from July 22 to 24.

This is the first high-level official visit by a Vietnamese leader to Morocco in six years and to Senegal since the two nations established diplomatic ties.

The visit highlights Vietnam's parliamentary diplomacy, aiming to strengthen its already good political relations and deepen friendly ties between the peoples. The focus is on enhancing cooperation between the National Assembly of Vietnam and the parliaments of Morocco and Senegal. It also seeks to lay the legal groundwork for increased collaboration among governments and enterprises of the respective countries.

Both Senegal and Morocco are among the most dynamic economies in Africa. Senegal, located in West Africa on the Atlantic coast, holds strategic importance as a gateway to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). With a youthful population, abundant resources, and strong economic potential, it is expected to become a hub for South-South cooperation in the future.

The Chairman’s visit also aims to promote substantive multi-sectoral cooperation with Morocco, Senegal, and Africa more broadly - covering trade, investment, tourism, culture, and people-to-people exchanges - for the mutual benefit and sustainable development of all parties.

The 6th World Conference of Speakers of Parliament is a significant event in global parliamentary diplomacy. Held in Geneva, Switzerland, the conference is themed "Parliaments for Peace, People, and Planet: Strengthening Multilateralism to Tackle Today’s Challenges." Nearly 120 parliamentary delegations are attending, including close to 100 speakers and presidents of national legislatures.

At the conference, Vietnam will share experiences and success stories to inspire and cooperate with global peers in the promotion of peace, stability, development, international integration, respect for international law, and strengthened global solidarity.

Tran Thuong