National Assembly Chairman arrives in Dakar for official visit to Senegal
Vietnam and Senegal have maintained sound friendship and cooperation as well as coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums such as the United Nations, the Francophonie, and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
Senegalese National Assembly President El Malick Ndiaye welcomes Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and his spouse Nguyen Thi Thanh Nga at Blaise Diagne International Airport in Dakar. (Photo: VNA)
Dakar (VNA) - National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man, his spouse Nguyen Thi Thanh Nga, and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation arrived in Dakar at 12:10 (local time) on July 22, beginning an official visit to the Republic of Senegal from July 22–24.
The top Vietnamese legislator and his entourage were welcomed at Blaise Diagne International Airport in Dakar by President of the Senegalese National Assembly El Malick Ndiaye, members of the Senegalese NA Standing Committee, Vietnamese Ambassador to Algeria and Senegal Tran Quoc Khanh, staff of the embassy and representatives of the Vietnamese community in Senegal.
Local people greeted the Vietnamese delegation with vibrant traditional dance performances. Immediately after the welcome ceremony, the two top legislators held a brief meeting.
This is the first official visit to Senegal by a key Vietnamese leader since the establishment of diplomatic ties nearly 60 years ago.
Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man (L) has a brief meeting with Senegalese National Assembly President El Malick Ndiaye. (Photo: VNA)
Vietnam and Senegal have maintained sound friendship and cooperation as well as coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums such as the United Nations, the Francophonie, and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
Economic cooperation has seen positive progress, with bilateral trade reaching 81.16 million USD in 2024, including 43.91 million USD worth of exports from Vietnam. In the first four months of this year alone, Vietnam's exports to Senegal hit 43.3 million USD, nearly reaching the total figure in 2024. Between 1997 and 2005, Vietnam sent more than 100 agricultural experts and technicians to work in Senegal under a tripartite agricultural cooperation programme sponsored by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), which was highly appreciated by both FAO and the Senegalese side.
Parliamentary cooperation between Vietnam and Senegal has primarily taken place through multilateral frameworks such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie (APF), as well as at multilateral conferences hosted by the Vietnamese NA. In January 2025, the First Vice-President of the Senegalese NA attended the APF Executive Committee meeting in Vietnam’s Can Tho city.
During his current official visit to Senegal, NA Chairman Man is scheduled to hold talks and meetings with top Senegalese leaders; attend a policy roundtable on promoting Vietnam–Senegal cooperation in agriculture, trade, and investment; and meet with staff of the Vietnamese Embassy and members of the Vietnamese and Vietnamese-origin community in Senegal.
ꦅ This visit holds special significance in strengthening political trust, deepening friendship, providing momentum for multifaceted cooperation between the two countries, including inter-parliamentary ties, and creating legal frameworks for enhanced collaboration between the two governments and businesses in the time to come./.
At the invitation of El Malick Ndiaye, President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Senegal, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man is paying an official visit to Senegal from July 22 to 24, 2025. This is the highest-level visit ever between the two countries in over 55 years of diplomatic ties, and is expected to mark a turning point, opening up new prospects for bilateral cooperation.
The trip by National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man aims to strengthen and further develop the friendly and mutually beneficiary relations between Vietnam and Senegal, Morocco, and Switzerland, deepen cooperation between Vietnam and the African and European regions, and diversify Vietnam’s economic and trade partnerships.
Both countries have shown their special interest and clear determination in promoting bilateral relations to a new height. Therefore, the visit will not only deepen legislative ties but also serve as a catalyst to advance cooperation in various areas, including trade, agriculture, science and technology, and people-to-people exchanges.
In the context of the robust development of bilateral ties, the establishment of the Consulate General of Vietnam in Busan is vivid evidence of the deepening linkages between the two nations, serving as a solid bridge to expand locality-to-locality cooperation in various fields such as economy, culture, and people-to-people exchanges.
The diplomatic sector has always upheld its role as one of the three key pillars in the cause of national construction and defence, taking the lead in implementing the motto of “using the invariables to cope with the variables" in asserting and safeguarding the sacred sovereignty of the nation.
Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung, on behalf of the Government and people of Vietnam, extended congratulations to the government and people of Singapore, highlighting Singapore as a source of aspiration for many nations, including Vietnam, and a model of innovation, and smart government building.
President of the VFF Central Committee Do Van Chien highlighted the fruitful ties between the VFF Central Committee and the LFNC Central Committee for the effective implementation of the bilateral cooperaetion agreement and the tripartite memorandum of understanding among the fronts of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.
Busan will continue to work closely with Ho Chi Minh City and other Vietnamese localities to promote substantive collaboration in areas where the two sides boast complementary strengths, contributing to concretising the agreements reached by high-ranking leaders of both sides, said Busan Mayor Park Hyeong Joon.
Party General Secretary To Lam acknowledged the rapid progress of the Vietnam–RoK partnership in recent years, especially in economics, thanks to the support of both countries, their citizens, and business leaders like former Honorary Consul General of Vietnam in the RoK Park Soo Kwan.
The Government leader called for a people-centred and comprehensive approach involving the full political system, with more decentralisation and delegation of power, as long as stronger implementation capacity, enhanced inspections, perfected institutional frameworks, and targeted resource allocation.
Hugh Jeffrey, Deputy Secretary of Strategy, Policy, and Industry at the Australian Department of Defence, highly valued Vietnam's increasingly active role in peacekeeping missions and expressed confidence in the growing, practical, and deeper cooperation between the two countries.
The visit marks the Vietnamese Party General Secretary’s first state visit to the RoK in his new role. The RoK’s invitation to him as the first “state guest” under its new administration signals the high priority it places on the relationship with Vietnam and its Party chief personally.
Party General Secretary To Lam suggested both sides effectively implement existing parliamentary cooperation agreements and strengthen exchanges between the two legislatures. He laid stress on the bridge-building role of friendship parliamentarian groups in each country.
Under the draft revised rules, the NA and People’s Councils will no longer directly establish thematic supervision missions. Instead, the NA will select annual supervision themes and assign their implementation to the NA Standing Committee or specialised committees, which will then report findings for parliamentary discussion and resolution.
The Republic of Korea (RoK)’s media continued to provide extensive coverage on August 12 of the State visit to the country by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam, his spouse Ngo Phuong Ly, and a high-level Vietnamese delegation from August 10-13.
Tran Luu Quang, Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and head of its Commission for Policies and Strategies, underlined that the exchange of experience in building socio-economic development policies, refining institutions and policies, and particularly in SOE reform, is a practical and significant approach that contributes to maintaining stability and fostering development in both countries.
According to Decisions No. 1720/QD-TTg, Le Thanh Hai was removed from the title of the Chairman of the city People’s Committee and other positions he once held for violations and wrongdoings while performing his duties.
Deputy Prime Minister Mai Van Chinh has highlighted the upcoming exhibition on national achievements on the occasion of the country's 80th National Day as an unprecedented, large-scale event with diverse content, urging all stakeholders to demonstrate the highest sense of responsibility to make it commensurate with 80 years of national construction and defence.
Chien reaffirmed Vietnam’s stance on the settlement of disputes through peaceful measures in accordance with international law, particularly the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), as well as full implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and early finalisation of a substantive, effective Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).
PM Pham Minh Chinh expressed his hope that Japanese enterprises will continue standing side by side with Vietnam on the development path, thereby benefiting the two business communities, both countries, and their peoples.
