LookAtVietnam – The 31st General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-31) officially opened in the capital city of Hanoi on September 21.

The 31^st General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-31) officially opened in the capital city of Hanoi on September 21.

While opening the event, Vietnam’s National Assembly (NA) Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong, who is also Chairman of AIPA-31, said the theme “Solidarity for Sustainable Development of the ASEAN Community” has received a high level of consensus from the AIPA member parliaments, special observers and partners.

The General Assembly will focus on measures to enhance solidarity and cooperation amongst the region’s parliaments and promote cooperation between AIPA and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), he said.

Mr. Trong added that the General Assembly will also seek out ways of coping with climate change, natural disasters and epidemics, increasing social welfare for women and children, and strengthening relations with its partners.

In this new period of development in ASEAN, the major mission of AIPA is to build legal frameworks to facilitate the cooperation, linkage and regional integration of AIPA member nations and harmonise laws to link the bloc together and support governments when performing socio-economic development tasks.

The preliminary harmonisation of laws in the fight against drug and human trafficking will lay an important foundation for harmonising laws in other fields, the chairman noted.

As a forum representing the region’s people, AIPA should also work out solutions to encourage people to engage in efforts to tighten regional connections and build an ASEAN Community of the people and for the people.

Holding the AIPA chairmanship in the 2009-2010 term, Vietnam’s National Assembly has spared no effort to further inter-parliamentary cooperation by hosting forums and other important events while strengthening AIPA’s Secretariat, said the AIPA Chairman.

According to Mr. Trong, AIPA needs to renew its operations in a more effective and practical manner to support the regional integration and encourage parliamentary diplomacy, thereby expanding relationships with partners and improving the position of both AIPA and ASEAN.

With the concerted efforts of the AIPA member parliaments and the support and cooperation of its partners, AIPA will continue to uphold its important role in building a peaceful and prosperous ASEAN community, Mr. Trong stressed.

Vietnam’s holding the AIPA-31 chair also coincides with the 15^th anniversary of the country’s accession to AIPA. Over the past 15 years, the Vietnamese NA has contributed greatly to AIPA operations, said Chairman Trong, adding that this is the responsibility of AIPA members and part of Vietnam’s foreign policy.

The Vietnamese NA wants to strengthen and expand cooperative ties with AIPA member parliaments, especially with regional nations, the legislative chief said.

In his speech at the opening ceremony, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Chairman of ASEAN 2010, said the accompanying and close coordination between the governments and parliaments have a vital role to play in accelerating and successfully building the ASEAN Community by 2015.

The legislative bodies of ASEAN member nations have also made huge contributions to the bloc’s achievements in terms of regional cooperation, he said.

PM Dung expressed his belief that the delegates will discuss and put forward more practical measures to enhance solidarity and comprehensive links between ASEAN countries and step up cooperation in response to arising challenges, including post economic crisis recovery, natural disasters, epidemics and climate change.

These issues are also top priorities which have been recently discussed by ASEAN government leaders and have been realised by specific cooperation programmes and plans, Mr. Dung said.

As the deadline for forming the ASEAN Community is approaching, ASEAN and AIPA need to effectively carry out cooperation programmes, and improve the legal environment to intensify regional linkage in the years to come, PM Dung emphasised.

Following the opening ceremony, the delegates attended the first plenary session under the chairmanship of Vietnam’s NA Chairman and the Chair of AIPA-31 Nguyen Phu Trong.

VietNamNet/VOV/VNA