NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and delegates attend the IPU-137 (Source: VNA)Saint Petersburg (VNA) - National Assembly (NA) Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan has led ahigh-ranking NA delegation of Vietnam to attend the 137th Inter-ParliamentaryUnion Assembly (IPU-137) that officially opened in Saint Petersburg, Russia, onOctober 14.
Theevent, themed “Promoting cultural pluralismand peace through inter-faith and inter-ethnic dialogue”,was attended by about 2,000 delegates, including more than 80 parliamentaryleaders from IPU member nations.
Addressingthe opening ceremony, Russian President Vladimir Putin said it is an honour forRussia to host the 137th assembly of the IPU, the world’soldest international parliamentary cooperation organisation, with a richagenda, including discussions on protection of human rightsand freedoms, the fight against terrorism, global sustainabledevelopment, and the role of women and young peoplein politics and the economy.
PresidentPutin suggested the IPU nations promote a peaceful, creative and balancedagenda, to reduce strife, prevent the emergence of newseparating opinions, including ethnic and religious ones, jointly movetowards shaping a fairer and more solid architectureof international relations.
Forhis part, IPU President Saber Chowdhury called on parliamentarians to seekmeasures for current issues, and discuss a new agenda, promotingcultural pluralism and peace through inter-faithand inter-ethnic dialogue.
Chairwomanof the Federation Council of Russia ValentinaIvanovna Matviyenko highlighted the importance of the IPU-137 agenda,noting that the assembly will consider issuing a resolution on marking the 20thanniversary of the Universal Declaration on Democracy, reflecting its positionin the current democracy systems, promoting and ensuring democratic principles.
Withinthe framework of IPU-137 and related meetings from October 14-15, the delegateswill hold a general debate on “promotion of cultural pluralism and peacethrough inter-faith and inter-ethnic dialogue”; ratify resolutions andreports of the standing committees, the final documents of the general debate, andadopt the theme of the Standing Committee on Democracy and Human Rights for IPU139.
Theparticipants will also elect a new IPU President for the 2017-2021 tenure andadditional members of the executive committee, and discuss the IPU’s strategyfor the period, among others.-VNA
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