Hanoi (VNA) – Though 2020 is a challengingyear for Vietnam with the rise of COVID-19, the 14th NationalAssembly (NA) has taken innovative approaches and managed to complete anenormous workload to fulfill all its three missions in lawmaking, supervisionand major decision-making.

The NA’s 9th sitting has put a mark on its70-year history as for the first time, the NA deputies from different locationsmet virtually for days in May as a measure to deal with the spread of COVID-19.

The lawmakers have used tablets to cast their votes whilereports and information have been regularly delivered to them by apps.

Such flexible and active adaption to the new situationhas laid a foundation for the NA’s innovation in the era of the FourthIndustrial Revolution.

The 9th sitting has received positive feedback from thedeputies as all virtual meetings were run smoothly without any difficulty ortechnical problems.

It reflects the NA’s efforts to innovate and be flexiblein its operation while maintaining its spirit of democracy and openness, saidNA Vice Chairman Phung Quoc Hien.

Nguyen Hanh Phuc, Secretary-General of the NA andChairman of the NA’s Office, said it is critical for the NA to promote theapplication of information technology in its activities. The shift to virtualmeetings is fundamental to the NA looking into how the next sittings would beorganised, he said.

NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan also said the newmeeting format once again shows that the NA, in any circumstances, has alwaysworked hard with great responsibility for the benefit of the people and thecountry.

Following the success of the 9th sitting, theNA continued to organise the 10th sitting via video teleconferencein October and November.

One of the highlights of the 10th sitting was thequestion-and-answer (Q&A) sessions during which the deputies raisedquestion to Government members and others in various areas, particularly theimplementation of the NA’s resolutions on specialised supervision in the 14th tenure and several others of the 13th term.

The Q&A sessions covered a wide range of matters ofpublic concerns, such as devastating landslides and flooding in central Vietnamwhich had taken major human and economic toll in October and November.

This year, the Vietnamese NA works as the Chair of theASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA). Because of impact of the COVID-19pandemic, the 41st AIPA General Assembly (AIPA-41) was held online fromSeptember 8 – 10 for the first time in the history of the organisation.

Under the leadership of Vietnam, the AIPA-41 arrived at asuccess and reflected through the full participation and support of memberparliaments, observers and international parliamentary organisations. Notably,at the AIPA-41, the AIPA Committee on Political Matters was able to convene ameeting, after none was held in the three previous General Assemblies.

Also during this General Assembly, Vietnam raised initiativeson the organisation of the AIPA Young Parliamentarians’ Meeting and aconference on “Parliamentary Partnership on Educational and Cultural Cooperationfor Sustainable Development”, which were supported by all member parliaments.

The AIPA Chairmanship Year 2020 and the AIPA-41 havehelped the organisation define a strategic vision for the next 5-10 years,affirming the role of parliamentary diplomacy in the region and the world andcontributing to developing the ASEAN Community.

Over the past 25 years, the Vietnamese NA has madeimportant contributions to the AIPA, and the success of the ASEAN ChairmanshipYear, as well as the AIPA-41, is another Vietnamese contribution to AIPA’sdevelopment, NA Chairwoman Ngan said.

Also this year, the NA has adopted 17 bills and 34resolutions, including those ratifying the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement(EVFTA), EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and InternationalLabour Organisation (ILO) Convention 105 on Abolition of Forced Labour, whichlay legal basis for the country’s sustainable growth and internationalintegration./.