Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Assembly of Vietnam holds AIPA-41 online. This is a chance for AIPA and ASEAN to reaffirm its solidarity and determination, promote cooperation and overcome challenges, building a more prosperous, stable, cohesive and proactively-adaptable community.
AIPA has become an increasingly important forum to effectively support and contribute actively to regional connection, cooperation in development as well as common challenge response. AIPA and member parliaments have been boosting legal harmonization, supervision of legal enforcement, and the building of master plans on the building of the ASEAN Community and cooperation policies.
In this context, AIPA-41 is expected to become a forum for member parliaments to share their messages and commit to boosting activities and accompanying governments in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and actively provide assistance to intra-regional cooperation and partnership in the face of common global challenges. In addition to the official AIPA member parliaments, the event is also joined by observer parliaments and guests.
    |
 |
|
An art performance at the opening ceremony |
AIPA-41 is an opportunity for the host country to promote its role as a reliable and responsible partner in the ASEAN community and international community. As Chair of AIPA-41, which is now held during a challenging period, the National Assembly of Vietnam has proposed initiatives and organized appropriate activities in the spirit of “cohesive and responsive.”
Under the initiative of Vietnam, for the first time, the specific goals of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals towards 2030 have been included in the activities of AIPA. In addition, Vietnam has also proposed the organization of a informal conference for AIPA young parliamentarians. The proposal was made in an effort to make the conference an effective contribution to building a united ASEAN Community and become an official event of AIPA. The National Assembly of Vietnam has also carried out many online parliamentary diplomacy activities with AIPA member parliaments as well as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) serving to promote the role of member parliaments in COVID-19 response.
With the activities held and initiatives proposed by the host, AIPA-41 is expected to strengthen and promote the role of parliaments in ASEAN cooperation as well as the role of parliamentary diplomacy in the ASEAN Community development.
In particular, as Vietnam is currently the Chair of AIPA and ASEAN while holding a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council, AIPA-41 is an opportunity for Vietnam to play its active role and make contributions to the common efforts of the region and the world and to increase its own prestige.
This is the third time the National Assembly of Vietnam has taken the role of AIPA Chair and hosted AIPA. Since its admission to AIPA in 1995, Vietnam has participated in and contributed actively and proactively to this multilateral parliamentary cooperation mechanism. This year, its agenda and proposed initiatives to AIPA-41 have been highly welcomed and supported by member parliaments.
AIPA-41, hosted by the National Assembly of Vietnam, will surely mark an important milestone in the development of the AIPA-ASEAN partnership and gradually deepen the relationship so as to better solve regional and international problems, for peace, stability and development.
The People’s Army Newspaper
Translated by Huu Duong