At the invitation of Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) President Tulia Ackson, IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong, Morocco’s Speaker of the House of Representatives Rachid Talbi Alami, and President of the Senegalese National Assembly El Malick Ndiaye, Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man will attend the 6th World Conference of Speakers of Parliament and conduct bilateral activities in Switzerland and pay official visits to Morocco and Senegal from July 22 to 30, 2025.

Taking place amid rapid and unpredictable global developments with far-reaching impacts on the security and development environment, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man’s working trip reaffirms Viet Nam’s positive and responsible contributions to the IPU’s common agenda, while also promoting IPU-UN cooperation. This is also the first official visit by a senior Vietnamese leader to Morocco in six years and the first to Senegal since 1973.

Diplomatic relations between Viet Nam and Morocco were established in 1961. After a 30-year interruption, the two countries resumed relations in 1991 and have achieved numerous cooperative accomplishments across various fields, particularly since 2004.

2026 marks a significant milestone in Viet Nam-Morocco relations, commemorating 65 years of diplomatic ties and mutual development, and opening a new and more brilliant phase of bilateral relations.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man’s visit to Morocco is the first official visit by a key Vietnamese leader to the North African country in six years, affirming political trust and determination to further deepen bilateral relations in the new context.

Regarding politics and diplomacy, Viet Nam opened its embassy in Rabat in 2005 and appointed an honorary consul in Casablanca in January 2025. Morocco opened its embassy in Ha Noi in 2006 and appointed an honorary consul in Ho Chi Minh City in December 2021. 

Concerning high-level exchanges, most recently, National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan paid an official visit to Morocco in March 2019 and the Speaker of the Moroccan House of Representatives paid an official visit to Viet Nam in December 2017. Both sides actively support each other at multilateral forums, particularly at the UN and IPU.

Economic cooperation between Viet Nam and Morocco focuses primarily on trade with bilateral exchange increasing steadily by 13% to 14% annually, from 169.2 million USD in 2017 to over 300 million USD in 2024, of which Viet Nam exported over 290 million USD worth of goods, mainly electronics, coffee, pepper, textiles, fabrics and yarns, while importing livestock feed and fertiliser.

In other areas of cooperation, the two countries have established friendship associations in each country. Viet Nam’s Da Nang and Morocco’s Tangier signed a cooperation agreement in March 2019. Since 2011, Morocco has offered Viet Nam approximately 10 scholarships each year for Arabic language studies at the undergraduate, master’s and doctoral levels.

Cooperation between the two parliaments has developed positively. Bilaterally, a cooperation agreement was signed during the official visit of Speaker of the Moroccan House of Representatives Habib El Malki in December 2017. The two sides regularly exchanged views and maintained high-level contacts at various committee levels and parliamentary advisory and support bodies.

Multilaterally, both sides maintain contact and consultation at forums such as IPU and the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie (APF). With active support from Viet Nam’s National Assembly, which chaired the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly in 2020, Morocco’s parliament was officially admitted as an AIPA observer in September that year.

The Vietnamese community in Morocco was formed in the 1940s and now has about 300-400 people, mainly families of Moroccan veterans who participated in supporting the Vietnamese people's resistance war against the French before 1954, along with a number of workers and students studying abroad.

During the working visit to Morocco from May 29 to June 3, 2024, by a delegation of the Communist Party of Viet Nam (CPV) led by Nguyen Trong Nghia, Politburo member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee (PCC) and Head of the PCC Commission for Communication and Education, the two sides reviewed the positive achievements in bilateral relations and proposed measures to promote bilateral cooperation in various fields.

Nguyen Trong Nghia proposed that the parliaments of both countries strengthen delegation exchanges at all levels; continue close coordination and mutual support at regional and global inter-parliamentary mechanisms; and accelerate negotiations and signing of parliamentary cooperation agreements. Viet Nam also called on the Moroccan Parliament to facilitate and support the CPV in expanding friendly and cooperative ties with major political parties in Morocco, thereby contributing to orienting the cooperation relationship between the two countries.

The official visit to Senegal by National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and the high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese Party and State holds historic significance, as it marks the first official visit by a top Vietnamese leader to Senegal in more than 50 years.

Tran Quoc Khanh, Vietnamese Ambassador to Algeria and Senegal:

With this visit led by the National Assembly chairman, parliamentary cooperation will undoubtedly be strengthened and make more substantive progresses. In addition, other fields such as economics, sports, agriculture and local-to-local cooperation are also being promoted. We expect that concrete cooperation content will be reflected through agreements signed within the framework of the visit.

 Since its establishment in 1969, the Viet Nam–Senegal friendship has been well maintained. On the occasion of attending the 16th Annual Meeting of the New Champions of the World Economic Forum in Tianjin, China, on June 25, 2025, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko. Affirming that Viet Nam and Senegal have a traditional friendship and good cooperation, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasised the motto of "working together, benefiting together, developing together", Viet Nam is ready to continue sending agricultural experts to share development experiences and support Senegal in ensuring food security with new and increasingly effective methods.

Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko affirmed that Senegal always attaches importance to the friendly and cooperative relationship with Viet Nam and hopes to further promote delegation exchanges and people-to-people exchanges. He also called on Viet Nam to increase its investment in the West African market of 400 million consumers. Prime Minister Sonko thanked Viet Nam for its support in the agricultural sector and shared his hope that Viet Nam would continue to help Senegal in producing rice and cashew nuts.

The bilateral trade between the two countries has seen positive developments in recent times. In the first four months of 2025, Viet Nam’s export turnover to Senegal reached 43.3 million USD, equivalent to the total for the whole of 2024.

 In agriculture, during the period from 1997 to 2005, Viet Nam sent over 100 agricultural experts and technicians to work in Senegal under a trilateral agricultural cooperation programme funded by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations. This programme was highly appreciated by both the FAO and Senegal.

In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency (VNA), Vietnamese Ambassador to Algeria and Senegal Tran Quoc Khanh emphasised that Senegal holds a significant position in West Africa with a rapidly developing economy and an open trade policy. The country is a founding member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union. Ambassador Khanh affirmed that Senegal could serve as a gateway for Vietnamese goods, services, and enterprises to penetrate more deeply into the West African market, as well as the African continent. Conversely, Viet Nam could also act as a key transit point and strategic springboard to help Senegal access the ASEAN market, thereby expanding its presence in the Southeast Asian region.

Parliamentary cooperation between the two countries has primarily taken place through multilateral mechanisms such as the IPU and APF through multilateral conferences hosted by the National Assembly of Viet Nam — such as the 2019 Conference of Women's Parliamentary Network, the APF Education, Communication and Cultural Affairs Committee, and the 132nd IPU Assembly in 2015. The first vice president of the Senegalese NA attended the APF Executive Committee meeting in Viet Nam’s Can Tho City in January.

In terms of people-to-people exchanges, there are around 3,000 Vietnamese and Vietnamese-origin people in Senegal. An organisation of Senegalese of Vietnamese origin was established in 2017. Senegal has also founded a Vovinam Association affiliated with the World Vovinam Federation, with thousands of practitioners regularly training and participating in competitions.

Founded in Paris in 1889 and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the IPU is an international organisation that brings together parliaments of sovereign states. With 181 members and 15 associate members, the IPU is at the heart of global parliamentary diplomacy, striving for peace, democracy, and cooperation among nations and parliaments.

The IPU operates with the objective of fostering dialogue, cooperation, and the experience exchange among parliaments and parliamentarians from all countries; consulting on issues of international interest and expressing views on such matters with a view to proposing actions to parliaments and their members; contributing to the protection and promotion of human rights worldwide — an essential element of parliamentary democracy and development; and enhancing awareness and improving the effectiveness of parliamentary institutions.

Since becoming a member of the IPU in April 1979, the National Assembly of Viet Nam has been an active and responsible participant in this forum. Engaging in IPU activities is a key component of Viet Nam’s multilateral parliamentary diplomacy. It enables the country to promote and safeguard its national interests, consult the views of other nations on global issues, express Viet Nam’s stance on shared international concerns, and conduct bilateral meetings with partners whom Vietnam rarely has the opportunity to carry out official bilateral activities.

These efforts contribute to enhancing the stature of the National Assembly in particular, and Viet Nam as a whole, on the international stage. The IPU also serves as a platform for delegates and officials to access a wide range of topics, operational experiences, and best practices from parliaments around the world, thereby supporting the improvement and enhancement of the National Assembly’s performance and effectiveness.

The National Assembly of Viet Nam has held the position of Chair of the Asia-Pacific Geopolitical Group within the IPU General Assembly in 2006 and 2016, and has also served as Chair of the ASEAN+3 Group. Vietnamese representatives have twice been elected to the IPU Executive Committee for four-year terms by the IPU General Assembly. Alongside its participation in the IPU Executive Committee and its election as Vice President of the IPU in 2009 and 2019, Viet Nam has had the opportunity to make more direct and substantive contributions to the organisation’s activities, promoting the IPU’s agenda for peace, cooperation, and sustainable development.

The Vietnamese National Assembly has chaired and hosted various IPU activities, most notably the IPU-132 Assembly — which marked a significant milestone with the Ha Noi Declaration aimed at promoting parliamentary action in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); the 9th Global Young Parliamentarians Conference; and other regional thematic conferences. It has also fostered parliamentary partnerships and multilateral parliamentary diplomacy by inviting the IPU President and Secretary General to attend and speak at parliamentary conferences hosted by the Vietnamese National Assembly.

Each year, the Vietnamese National Assembly sends delegations to attend IPU General Assemblies, related conferences, key IPU mechanisms such as the IPU–UN Hearings, regional seminars and thematic meetings, as well as training activities for parliamentary secretariats organised by the IPU Secretariat.

The World Conference of Speakers of Parliament is a special and highest-level mechanism established by the IPU in close coordination with the United Nations, providing a global forum for heads of legislative bodies to exchange views, promote parliamentary cooperation, contribute legislative voices to addressing global issues, and coordinate action in support of the United Nations.

The World Conference of Speakers of Parliament attracts the active participation of Vietnamese National Assembly delegations, led by the Chairperson or the Standing Vice Chairperson. At each time of participation, the head of the Vietnamese delegation always delivers key statements during plenary and thematic sessions, sharing Viet Nam’s policy-making viewpoint and experiences, reaffirming the country's strong commitment to multilateralism, the central role of the United Nations, and global parliamentary cooperation for peace, sustainable development, and shared prosperity. The Vietnamese delegation also conducts various meetings and working sessions with IPU and UN leaders as well as foreign parliamentary delegations.

Under the theme “A world in turmoil: Parliamentary cooperation and multilateralism for peace, justice and prosperity for all”, the sixth World Conference of Speakers of Parliamentreflects shared international concern over the current complex global context. It also highlights the vital role of multilateral parliamentary diplomacy in promoting peace, cooperation and development for the benefit of people worldwide, particularly through the formulation and supervision of laws and policies.

Viet Nam’s high-level participation in the World Conference of Speakers of Parliament reaffirms the country’s strong commitment to multilateralism, enhances Viet Nam’s image and position on the international stage, and underscores the proactive, active and responsible role of Viet Nam’s National Assembly in multilateral parliamentary forums. It also demonstrates the Vietnamese legislature’s role and responsibility in contributing to the resolution of global challenges.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dang Hoang Giang:

In addition to directly engaging in discussions on major international issues, Viet Nam brings to the conference its valuable experience and success stories to share with other countries and international organisations about its efforts to maintain peace, stability, and national development; strengthen foreign relations; promote international integration; uphold international law;and foster international solidarity and cooperation for peace, stability, and prosperity for all peoples, all nations, all regions, and the world.

In recent years, the friendship and cooperation between Viet Nam and Switzerland have developed positively. In terms of political and diplomatic relations, both sides have maintained high-level visits and exchanges across all levels and have closely coordinated at multilateral forums and international organisations such as the United Nations and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie.

In January 2025, during Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's working trip to attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos and visit Switzerland, Viet Nam and Switzerland agreed in principle to elevate their bilateral relationship to a Comprehensive Partnership.

Regarding economics, Switzerland is an important trading partner of Viet Nam in Europe, with bilateral trade reaching approximately 811 million USD in 2024.

In terms of development cooperation, Viet Nam is among Switzerland’s few priority countries for cooperation and non-refundable aid. The Switzerland–Viet Nam development cooperation programme for 2021–2024 was funded with around 76 million USD, and Switzerland committed an additional 50 million USD for the 2025–2028 cooperation period.

Switzerland is renowned as a prestigious training centre in banking, tourism, insurance, and high technology. Currently, around 150 Vietnamese interns, students, and researchers study at Swiss universities. Switzerland actively supports Viet Nam through educational projects related to the environment, management, and training programmes at master’s and doctoral levels in finance, banking, and business administration.

In humanitarian efforts, Switzerland has assisted Viet Nam with equipment for COVID-19 prevention and supported recovery after the Yagi super typhoon disaster.

Cooperation in other areas such as education and training, science and technology, innovation, sustainable development, culture, and tourism holds significant potential for further advancement.

Parliamentary cooperation between the two countries has developed fruitfully. A notable recent milestone was the official visit to Viet Nam by the President of the National Council of Switzerland, Martin Candinas, in June 2023. During the visit, both sides affirmed their utmost efforts to elevate bilateral relations to new heights, benefiting the peoples of both nations and contributing to peace and stability in the region and the world. The Parliamentary Friendship Groups have also played an important role in advancing sectoral collaboration.

The Vietnamese community in Switzerland is estimated at around 10,000 people, living across all 26 cantons and generally enjoying stable lives. They have integrated well into Swiss society while maintaining strong ties to their homeland and contributing positively to bilateral relations through cultural and community activities.

Published: July 2025
Production managers: BICH HANH - TRUONG SON
Content: NGUYEN HA - MINH HANG
Design: NHA NAM
References: MOFA, VNA