National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân called for bringing the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) forward off the back of the solid foundation built over the past four decades in her speech at the first plenary session of the 37th General Assembly of the AIPA yesterday.
Ngan said during its nearly 40 years of existence, AIPA has seen strong development, expanded its membership, strengthened its co-operation mechanisms and backed the building of an ASEAN Community. Expressing the Vietnamese NA’s support for the AIPA-37’s theme “Vibrant AIPA for a progressive ASEAN Community”, she emphasised that a vibrant AIPA is an AIPA of unity, democracy, harmony, and mutual support. Việt Nam will implement resolutions set by the AIPA 37.
She reaffirmed Việt Nam’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation and diversification of ties; active engagement in regional and global issues; contributing to shaping and renewing the AIPA’s activities. The Vietnamese legislative leader proposed the AIPA uphold the principles and code of conduct of ASEAN and respect for international law for the sake of peace and security in the region while realising the ASEAN Vision 2025.
The NA Chairwoman called attention to joint co-ordination in implementing the ASEAN Agenda on Sustainable Environment and Climate Change beyond 2015, realising the Strategic Plan of Action on ASEAN Environment Cooperation for 2016-2025, as well as accelerating the Strategic Plan of Action on the ASEAN Development of small and medium-sized enterprises. She urged the AIPA to push joint work in information technology so as to improve national capacity. She called for efforts to raise public awareness of benefits brought by ASEAN and the building of the ASEAN Community.
The AIPA in general and AIPA member parliaments should facilitate the implementation of the bloc’s legal agreements and supplement and fine-tune their domestic laws. On the occasion, she also lauded the outcomes of the ASEAN meetings, including the 49th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting, which emphasised peaceful measures to address the East Sea issue, including respecting and abiding by international law, notably the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, carrying out the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea, and working towards a Code of Conduct in the East Sea.
On the evening of the same day, Myanmar State Counsellor, Foreign Minister and Minister of the President’s Office Aung San Suu Kyu hosted a banquet in honour of delegates to the AIPA-37.
Meeting with Myanmar’s President
National Assembly Chairwoman Ngân on the same day visited President of Myanmar Htin Kyaw. The Vietnamese top legislator said her visit aims to affirm Việt Nam’s desire to promote co-operation with Myanmar, especially links between the two legislative bodies.
She congratulated Myanmar on the successful general election last November, saying she believes with the new leadership, Myanmar will continue achieving greater successes. While thanking the Myanmar Government and the President for their support of Vietnamese investors, Ngan highlighted the potential for the two countries in developing links in trade and investment.
She asked the Myanmar President to create more favourable conditions for Vietnamese firms to expand investment and business activities in his country in the coming time. President Htin Kyaw congratulated Việt Nam on its achievements during its national reform and development process. He said many Vietnamese businesses invested in his country, and their projects were operating effectively. Myanmar was working to revise its law on investment to further facilitate foreign investors’ operations in the country, he revealed.
Stronger ties with Singapore
Speaker of the Singaporean Parliament Halimah Yacob yesterday called for boosting Việt Nam-Singapore ties across all fields, especially between the two legislatures and friendship parliamentarian groups. The Speaker also congratulated Việt Nam on successfully holding the election of deputies to the 14th NA and the People’s Councils at all levels for 2016-2021.
She also invited Ngân to visit Singapore in the near future. National Assembly Chairwoman Ngân, for her part, spoke highly of growing ties between the two countries, as seen in regular visit exchanges, most recently Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean’s trip to Việt Nam to attend the 20th founding anniversary of the Việt Nam-Singapore Industrial Park. She suggested the two legislatures continue working closely together in the future, especially at the regional and global forums.
Receiving IPU Secretary General
NA Chairwoman Ngân thanked Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Martin Chungong, for his help for the Vietnamese NA in building the new Constitution. Meeting with the IPU Secretary General yesterday, the Vietnamese NA leader appreciated the important role played by Martin Chungong in the IPU.
She expressed her belief that with over 20 years of experience working at the IPU’s secretariat, Martin Chungong will assist the IPU and its member parliaments in striving for peace, democracy, co-operation and sustainable development. Secretary General Martin Chungong spoke highly of the Vietnamese NA’s contributions to the IPU, especially its hosting of the IPU 32, saying that the Hà Nội Declaration reflected the commitment of IPU member nations to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Congratulating Ngân on her election as new leader of the Vietnamese legislature, he hoped Ngan would make significant contributions to the IPU. Earlier the same day, NA Chairwoman Ngan joined heads of delegations to the AIPA 37 in visiting speaker of the upper house and lower house of Myanmar’s Assembly of the Union and President of AIPA 37 Mann Win Khaing Than.
