Vietnam's parliament elected Vo Van Thuong as president in an extraordinary session on Thursday. His role is the country's second-highest after Communist party leader.

The 52-year old Thuong is the youngest member of the party's Politburo, but he is viewed as a political veteran after holding key party posts.

In January, his predecessor Nguyen Xuan Phuc stepped down to take responsibility for a wide-ranging corruption scandal involving coronavirus pandemic measures. Phuc's resignation was unusual in that it came in the middle of his term.

Thuong's election could help reassure the country's foreign investors, some of whom had voiced concerns about political turmoil.