Vietnam’s two proposals have been approved by members of ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) and added to the AIPA Message at the meeting of AIPA leaders in Manila, the Philippines, on April 28. 

AIPA Preparatory Meeting for the ASEAN – AIPA Leaders’ Interface 

One of the proposals calls for strengthening the cooperation among ASEAN countries to ensure water resource security, and the other urging ASEAN member states to active implement contents of the Agenda 2030 on Sustainable Growth, with priorities on poverty reduction, ensuring people’s livelihoods amidst climate change impacts.

Addressing the event, Vice Chairman of Vietnam’s National Assembly Phung Quoc Hien said that as ASEAN is pushing ahead with efforts to build an ASEAN Community of dynamism, prosperity, peace, stability, integration and representing people’s voice, AIPA parliamentarians should enhance their role in the process.

He affirmed Vietnam’s commitments to prioritise and give adequate resources to realise development goals of the Community, while asking countries to uphold the culture of enforcement and attach greater importance to harmonizing national interests and that of the Association.

Under the chair of AIPA President and Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines’ parliament Pantaleon D. Alvarez, leaders of AIPA member parliaments discussed the AIPA Message which highlights important issues of the ASEAN Community in the new situation

The message underscored the role that AIPA plays in the building of ASEAN Community Vision 2015 towards a dynamic, prosperous, law-governed and people-centred Community.

The Message was passed the same day and it will be presented by the AIPA President at the official meeting between leaders of ASEAN and AIPA on April 29 as part of the 30th ASEAN Summit.

On the sidelines of the event, NA Vice Chairman Phung Quoc Hien held bilateral meetings with delegations from Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand.

He invited parliamentary leaders of the countries to attend the Asia-Pacific conference on climate change co-hosted by Vietnam’s NA and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Ho Chi Minh City on May 11-13.

VNA