Vietnam’s top leader Nguyen Phu Trong attended an extraordinary session of the country’s National Assembly Monday, after speculation that the Communist Party General Secretary’s health was suffering, state media reported.
The appearance has failed to address concerns though, as Trong left the session with the help of aides after the chair’s opening remarks, according to Reuters. The meeting is due to last two-and-a-half days.
Trong, 79, who has been at the helm of the party since 2011, is the most powerful leader in Vietnam’s one-party political system and regularly hosts visiting foreign officials in private meetings.
However, he did not meet Indonesian President Joko Widodo during his three-day state visit, which began Friday.
Trong was also not on the list of Vietnamese leaders to receive Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone over the previous weekend.
Before Monday’s appearance, Trong had not been seen in public since Dec. 26, when he met with the head of the Japanese Communist Party Kazuo Shii in Hanoi.
Trong, who also served as Vietnam’s president from Oct. 2018 to April 2021, was chosen to serve a rule-breaking third five-year term as party secretary in 2021.
His term will expire in 2026 when the Communist Party’s 14th National Congress is expected to take place. The party secretary is supposed to recommend a successor who then needs to be approved by the Central Committee.
Edited by Taejun Kang and Elaine Chan.
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