VN initiatives push heard at conference

06/08/2009

PATTAYA — Viet Nam yesterday raised three initiatives at the ongoing 30th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly at the Thai resort city of Pattaya.

Two of the initiatives, which were presented at the Specialised Committees’ meetings, highlighted AIPA’s role in implementing the ASEAN Charter and fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals for sustainable human security.
The other one covered the AIPAparliamentarians’ role in supporting their governments’ efforts to weather the current economic crisis and narrow the development gap by building and improving their legal frameworks and bodies of law.
At the Committee on Political Matters, legislators emphasised the need to promote democracy and human rights, including the right to full development for the people of AIPA member countries.

During the meeting of the Committee on Economic Matters, all participants voiced support for the region’s economic integration process, fostering trade and investment, bridging the development gap among ASEAN member nations and ensuring food and energy security.

Also on the second day of the AIPA-30, delegations from the nine AIPA member nations – Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore,Thailand and Viet Nam, as well as the newly admitted Brunei – conducted dialogues with their observer countries.

National Assembly Vice Chairwoman Tong Thi Phong, heading the Vietnamese delegation, met with Jha Peixin, vice chairman of the National People’s Congress (NPC)’s Committee for Foreign Affairs and head of the Chinese delegation.

Phong said that the Vietnamese legislature wished to further step up exchanges and co-operation with its Chinese counterpart, thus helping to develop friendly and co-operative relations between the two countries.

The two legislative bodies should increase the exchange of visits and the sharing of experiences, as well as work closely and support each other at regional and world inter-parliamentary forums, she said.

Jha said that the NPC attached great importance to developing ties with Viet Nam’s legislature and with the AIPA as well. He asked Phong to convey his invitation to NA Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong, who is the AIPA-31 Chair next year, to lead an AIPA delegation to visit China.

The Chinese lawmaker applauded recent positive developments in the China-Viet Nam relationship, adding that the two countries were holding great potential for expanding co-operation in many fields.

He urged the two parliaments to further beef up co-operation and the sharing of legislative and supervisory experiences to enhance the capacity and role of their legislators.

The same day, Phong met Bryon Wilfert, head of the Canadian delegation, and president of the Canada-Viet Nam Friendship Parliamentary Group.

Wilfert, who is also vice chair of the Canadian Parliament’s Committee on National Defence, said that Canada treasured its relationship with Viet Nam and had kept Viet Nam on its list of 20 nations that would receive aid.

On the sidelines of the AIPA-30, Phong and her entourage held bilateral meetings with delegations from Thailand, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, as well as with representatives from AIPA observer and dialogue countries. — VNS