ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly opens in Malaysia

The 28th General Assembly of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) kicked off in Kuala Lumpur on August 20, drawing delegates from AIPA members and observers and representative of the ASEAN Standing Committee...

National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong delivered his speech at the meeting

The 28th General Assembly of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) kicked off in Kuala Lumpur on August 20, drawing delegates from AIPA members and observers and representative of the ASEAN Standing Committee.

In his opening remarks, AIPA President who is also Malaysia's Chairman of the House of Representatives, Tan Sri Ramli Ngah Talib, said that the AIPA must reposition itself to effectively address the growing challenges and opportunities of regional integration.

"This is more crucial with ASEAN's new focus and resolve, especially the emphasis on the ASEAN Community to be achieved by 2015," he was quoted by Bernama news agency as saying.

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said that the ASEAN Charter would be a landmark constitutional document embodying the fundamental principles, goals and structures of ASEAN cooperation that was capable of meeting the needs of the forthcoming ASEAN community.

"AIPA is undoubtedly an appropriate platform to bring people together, especially regional parliamentarians, to strengthen cooperation within ASEAN. That's why AIPA is equally poised to play an important role in the process of ASEAN community building," PM Abdullah was quoted as saying.

At the plenary session, participants discussed a wide range of issues such as drug smuggling, woman and children trafficking, environmental protection, anti-terrorism, investment promotion, as well as narrowing the development gap between member nations.

AIPA comprises the parliaments of Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam. Brunei and Myanmar are special observers of AIPA.

Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, Japan, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Russia, the Republic of Korea and the United States are AIPA observers.