National Assembly Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn speaks at the preparatory meeting on Thursday. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — National Assembly (NA) Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn chaired a meeting in Hà Nội on Thursday to discuss preparations for the 16th NA’s first session.

In a speech at the meeting, NA Secretary General and Chairman of the NA Office Lê Quang Mạnh said the first session will decide on organisational and personnel matters, nine draft laws and legal normative resolutions, five groups of socio-economic, financial, budgetary, supervisory issues and other key matters, while nine additional topic groups will be submitted to lawmakers for consideration.

The session is scheduled to open on April 6 and close on April 24, spanning a total of 11 working days.

Mẫn said in an address that the session carries special significance, coming on the heels of the 14th National Party Congress, the election of deputies to the NA and people’s councils at all levels for the 2026–31 term and the 14th Party Central Committee’s second plenum.

According to the NA Chairman, lawmakers will review and finalise key State leadership positions, including the State President, Prime Minister, NA Chairman, NA vice chairpersons, Deputy PMs, cabinet members, members of the NA Standing Committee, head of the NA Council for Ethnic Affairs and heads of NA committees.

Central and local authorities have completed a review of election-related complaints in line with regulations before finalising results. Coordination among agencies has largely been completed, allowing the certification of the eligibility of 500 elected deputies. The National Election Council is expected to approve a resolution confirming the eligibility of all 500 deputies on March 27.

At the meeting, Mẫn asked the standing board of the NA Committee for Culture and Social Affairs to urgently review a proposed amendment to the Law on Social Insurance so it can be submitted to the NA Standing Committee for consideration in April.

If conditions are met, the draft law will be added to the first session’s agenda.

For other urgent and important issues related to newly issued Party resolutions, he asked Mạnh to instruct relevant agencies to prepare documents and submit them to NA bodies before April 11 to allow sufficient time for review and consideration during the second phase of the session.

As for the NA’s digital transformation plans and other relevant items, Mẫn assigned the standing board of the NA Committee for Science, Technology and Environment to coordinate with relevant agencies to finalise a detailed progress report, including implementation status, bottlenecks, proposed solutions and responsibilities, for submission to NA leaders before April 20. — VNA/VNS