Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam puts great importance onfostering the youth’s development, with more and more young people elected asdeputies to the National Assembly (NA) every tenure, said Dinh Cong Sy, ViceChairman of the NA’s Young Parliamentarians Group, at a global conference onApril 28.

Sy is among around 200 young parliamentarians attendingthe Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)’s 7th Global Conference of YoungParliamentarians, themed “Post-COVID-19 recovery: A youth-responsive approach,”held virtually on April 28 – 29.

He cited the fact that Vietnam’s NA adopted the Youth Lawlast year, and in 2011, established the Young Parliamentarians Group which nowconsists of 131 members under 45, accounting for 26 percent of totallegislators to the 14th NA. The group aims at strengthening connectivity amongyoung legislators and enhancing their engagement and contribution to the NA’sagenda, he said.

He noted that the NA young deputies have been veryproactive in law-making, supreme supervision and decision-making, particularlymajor national affairs while listening to the youth’s opinions and wishes andconveying their expectations to the NA.

They have been also working to assess the impacts of lawsand policies on the youth, he said, adding that many opinions andrecommendations of young NA members have been taken into account in policy andlaw making.

Sy held that it is very important to promote youthempowerment and participation in policy and law making and to bolster capacitybuilding to sharpen their leadership skills.

Addressing the launch of the event, IPU Secretary GeneralMartin Chungong said the health and socio-economic shocks brought about by theCOVID-19 pandemic have impacted significantly young men and women all aroundthe world. A new chapter for youth empowerment is needed and this new chaptermust be at the heart of post-pandemic recovery efforts, he said.

This year’s conference focuses on preserving and fulfillingfundamental youth rights and stepping up youth empowerment across the pandemicrecovery efforts; exploring the best means to promote youth participation inshaping youth-responsive recovery; providing guidance on how to reinforceeducation systems, maximize youth employment, and adjust health serviceseverywhere.

It features four debate sessions, namely “Youthparticipation: A sine qua non for youth-responsive recovery from the COVID-19pandemic,” “Supporting higher and university education: A priority of therecovery agenda,” “Healthy youth beyond the pandemic” and “Economicempowerment: Transforming the challenge into an opportunity.”/.