Vietnamese National Assembly starts to elect state president, top legislator

HANOI, May 20 -- The 15th National Assembly (NA) of Vietnam, the country's top legislature, opened its seventh sitting on Monday in the capital Hanoi, starting the process of electing state president and NA chairman.
   In his opening speech, NA permanent vice chairman Tran Thanh Man said two thirds of the session would be devoted to the consideration of 24 bills and draft resolutions, making legislation a key task of the assembly.
   The NA is scheduled to examine and adopt 10 draft laws, three draft legal resolutions and give feedback for the first time on 11 other bills, he said.
   They will discuss issues regarding socio-economic development, the state budget, taxation, and the NA's supervision work. They will also opine and decide on investment policies for a number of major projects, Vietnam News Agency reported.
   The meeting will last until June 28.