A view of the opening ceremony of the 14th-tenure National Assembly's 9th session in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo

 HÀ NỘI — The 14th-tenure National Assembly (NA) opened the ninth session in Hà Nội on Wednesday morning.

The opening sitting was broadcast live by Radio the Voice of Vietnam, Vietnam Television, and the NA’s TV channel.

The session will be held online from May 20 to 29, and deputies will gather at the NA building in Hà Nội for plenary meetings from June 8 to 18.

Addressing the opening ceremony, NA Chairwoman Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân said since the beginning of this year, the COVID-19 epidemic broke out and quickly become a pandemic, affecting all socio-economic activities globally and in Việt Nam.

The pandemic has interrupted production and business activities, social activities, especially health, education-training, tourism and culture. The lives of people have also been affected. In addition, the country was also heavily affected by climate change, extreme weather and natural disasters, causing great losses in many areas.

Facing the above-mentioned challenges, the Party, the NA and the Government have promptly issued many resolutions and instructed leaders from central to local levels to focus on pandemic prevention and control and implement solutions to support economic development while ensuring social security.

Ngân said that the pandemic has so far been controlled, adding that the country has succeeded in preventing the spread in the community and ensure the safety of people’s lives and health.

Việt Nam's response have been highly appreciated and recognised by many countries and international organisations as a bright spot in COVID-19 prevention and control.

“The National Assembly appreciated the hardships and sacrifices of medical staff, soldiers, the police and relevant forces on the front line of pandemic prevention and control as well as the the support of all strata in the implementation of response measures,” she said.

“This initial victory is the result of high determination, unity in action and the will of the political system. It demonstrated the patriotic tradition and the spirit of solidarity of the nation, firmly consolidating the people's trust in the Party and the State.”

According to Ngân, during the ninth session, the NA will consider and make decisions on some socio-economic and State budget issues.

The legislature is set to spend more than half of the working time on law making, including voting on 10 draft laws and discussing six others.

Deputies will also deliberate and vote on some important drafts such as the resolution on the law and ordinance making programme for 2021, adjustments to the law and ordinance making programme for 2020, resolutions ratifying the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), a resolution recognising and permitting the enforcement of rulings issued by dispute settlement agencies under the EVIPA, and another on Việt Nam’s joining of the International Labour Organisation’s Convention 105 on the abolition of forced labour.

The parliament will also practise its supreme supervisory power over the implementation of policies and laws on child abuse prevention and control, and vote on a resolution on this regard.

Notably, as the Government, ministries and agencies were concentrating on pandemic prevention and control and resuming production, questions-and-answer sessions will not be organised at plenary meetings as usual. Instead, NA deputies will send written queries on issues that concern constituents and people to ministers and other Government members. — VNS