AIPA Secretary General Nguyen Tuong Van was among the participants. The Vietnamese delegation to this meeting was led by Pham Thi Hong Yen, permanent member of the National Assembly’s Committee for Economic Affairs.
The delegates highlighted ASEAN’s position in the world economy, accounting for 3.7% of the global GDP.
However, they said, when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, economies in the region have been facing an unprecedented crisis that has attacked the most vulnerable groups, including micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) which are major contributors to and play a highly important role in economic recovery.
Given this, the AIPA Committee on Economic Matters approved two draft resolutions: one on promoting an inclusive digital ASEAN to improve MSMEs’ capacity and boost economic integration in the bloc, and another on post-pandemic economic recovery that focuses on tourism cooperation in ASEAN.
At the session, the Vietnamese delegation voiced its support for stronger digital transformation to improve MSMEs’ capacity, effective implementation of the inclusive digital transformation strategy under the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework, and acceleration of building a consolidated strategy on the Fourth Industrial Revolution for the bloc.
The delegation also stressed that the promotion of an inclusive digital ASEAN and the post-pandemic tourism cooperation are a long-term process requiring frequent and continuous efforts, as well as close coordination among member countries.
Commenting on the draft resolution on post-pandemic economic recovery, the Vietnamese side said the draft should recommend member countries issue financial policies to assist tourism businesses and enhance cooperation in mutual recognition on tourism. It should also call on countries to share their criteria for risk assessment, and regulations on testing and vaccination status to create an assessment system; and encourage the building of uniform health and safety standards and processes in ASEAN.
The 42nd AIPA General Assembly, themed “Forging Parliamentary Cooperation in Digital Inclusion towards ASEAN Community 2025”, is taking place via videoconference from August 23 to 25 under the chair of Brunei.
