National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man. Photo: VNA

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dang Hoang Giang has laid stress on the significance of National Assembly (NA) Chairman Tran Thanh Man’s attendance at the sixth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament in Switzerland, engagement in bilateral activities there, and official visits to Senegal and Morocco from July 22 to 30.

The trips will come at the invitation of President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Tulia Ackson, IPU Secretary-General Martin Chungong, Speaker of the Moroccan House of Representatives Rachid Talbi Alami, and Speaker of the Senegalese National Assembly El Malick Ndiaye.

During a recent interview with the press, Giang said the Geneva conference, the largest gathering of parliament speakers worldwide in 2025, where over 110 participants are expected, will address the international community's shared concerns about today's complicated global landscape while emphasising multilateral parliamentary diplomacy's vital role in advancing peace, cooperation and development for the benefits of citizens worldwide, particularly in policy formulation and implementation oversight.

The diplomat emphasised the the trips’ importance across both bilateral and multilateral dimensions. From a bilateral perspective, this marks the top legislator’s inaugural foreign trip to Switzerland and his first official visits to the two African countries. Notably, this represents Vietnam's first high-level official visit to Morocco in six years and the first such visit to Senegal since diplomatic relations were established.

The diplomatic tour, Giang said, will significantly strengthen the friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation between Vietnam and these three nations while bolstering collaboration between Vietnam and both African and European regions. Additionally, it will present valuable opportunities for the country to diversify its economic and trade partnerships, enhance cooperation across multiple sectors, and attract international resources to serve national development goals in the new era – that of the nation’s rise, thereby elevating the image and position of Vietnam and its parliament in particularly on the international stage.

The visits also align with Vietnam’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralism, diversification of external relations, and comprehensive and deep global integration, as outlined at the 13th Party Congress. Giang underscored that the top legislator’s trips will contribute to affirming the country’s policies and efforts in socio-economic development, while upholding multilateralism, creating momentum to demonstrate Vietnam's role as a responsible member making active, substantive contributions to IPU and UN activities.

Alongside engaging in settling major international issues, Vietnam will bring its experience and success stories to share with other countries and international organisations regarding consolidating and maintaining peace, stability, and national development, strengthening foreign relations, promoting international integration, respecting international laws, and advancing international solidarity and cooperation for peace, stability and prosperity for all peoples, nations, regions and the world.

Giang went on to say that Vietnam has maintained excellent cooperation relationships with Senegal, Morocco and Switzerland for decades.

The Vietnam–Senegal friendship and cooperation have steadily grown since the diplomatic relations were established in 1969. The two countries have worked closely at multilateral forums such as the UN, the Francophonie, and the IPU. Bilateral trade has shown positive developments recently, with Vietnamese exports to Senegal nearly tripling in the first half of 2025 to reach 60 million USD. Man’s visit is expected to further catalyse economic and parliamentary cooperation.

After nearly 65 years of diplomatic relations, the Vietnam-Morocco ties continue growing across all three channels of Party, State, and people-to-people diplomacy. Both sides have supported each other at international forums. Morocco currently serves as Vietnam's second-largest trading partner in North Africa, with bilateral trade volume increasing steadily annually. The top legislator's visit will create strong momentum for continued cooperation, particularly in trade, investment, agriculture and tourism, targeting bilateral trade volume of 500 million USD in coming years.

Meanwhile, the Vietnam–Switzerland ties have flourished since the diplomatic relations began more than 50 years ago. In trade, Switzerland ranks as Vietnam's leading partner within the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), with bilateral trade reaching 811 million USD in 2024 and 375 million USD in just the first five months of 2025. Swiss investment in Vietnam currently exceeds 2.1 billion USD, ranking 6th in Europe and 20th among 147 countries and territories investing in Vietnam. The bilateral relations were upgraded to a Comprehensive Partnership earlier this year, providing a foundation for both countries to enhance delegation exchanges at all levels, accelerate negotiations for a free trade agreement between Vietnam and the EFTA, while expanding collaboration across education – training, science – technology, culture, tourism, and climate change response, among others.

Giang expressed his belief that NA Chairman Man’s visits will leave positive impressions of Vietnam and its parliament’s active role, position, and substantive contributions to addressing global issues./.