Speaker of the House of Representatives of Indonesia Puan Maharani at the event (Photo: Antara) Jakarta (VNA) – Speaker of the House of Representatives of Indonesia PuanMaharani has affirmed that peace,security and stability has always been an important factor in the developmentand growth of the region.
Addressing the first plenary sessionof the 41st General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-ParliamentaryAssembly (AIPA-41) that opened online on September 8, Maharani said it iscrucial that Southeast Asia is kept to be peaceful, friendly and harmonious, inorder to enhance cooperation to curb the spread of COVID-19 and address itsadverse impact.
She added that AIPA needs toprioritise on peaceful settlement, avoid tension, exercise self-restraint and encourageconfidence building measures between ASEAN member states, while emphasising onASEAN centrality.
According to her, AIPA memberparliaments should also encourage ASEAN nations to uphold the United NationConvention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982 as reference in determining maritimeentitlements, sovereign rights and legitimate interests over maritime zones.
In her opinion, a Code of Conduct inthe East Sea (COC) should also be fostered as the mutually agreeable platformfor dialogue and consultation between ASEAN and China on the East Sea. Suchgood process can be reflected on the ground, she hoped.
The Speaker said the theme of thisyear’s General Assembly marks the increasingly important role of the parliamentsespecially in this time of COVID-19 pandemic, which is impacting so many livesand limiting economic activities causing the region to be in the verge ofrecession.
To this situation, she called onparliaments to encourage governments of ASEAN member states to deliver adequatepolicy to curb the spread of COVID-19, reduce greater economic impact andensuring social welfare.
She suggested parliaments optimisetheir role by performing legislative duty related to the effort of combatingCOVID-19 and its socio-economic impact, such as issuing laws related to fiscalstimulus or strengthening social safety net.
Parliaments should also improveoversight to ensure that those laws would be implemented, and their benefitswould be felt by the people, she said.
To advance as a cohesive and responsiveASEAN Community, she highlighted a need to enhance capacity to respondeffectively to emerging regional challenges, including in the context of humansecurity.
“I believe that we as one ASEANCommunity will overcome this difficult time and working together in addressingother regional challenges,” she stressed.
“With the spirit of ‘Gotong Royong’,a traditional Indonesian term of working collectively, we will be able toachieve one common goal to surpass this global COVID-19 pandemic”, she said./.
Addressing the first plenary sessionof the 41st General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-ParliamentaryAssembly (AIPA-41) that opened online on September 8, Maharani said it iscrucial that Southeast Asia is kept to be peaceful, friendly and harmonious, inorder to enhance cooperation to curb the spread of COVID-19 and address itsadverse impact.
She added that AIPA needs toprioritise on peaceful settlement, avoid tension, exercise self-restraint and encourageconfidence building measures between ASEAN member states, while emphasising onASEAN centrality.
According to her, AIPA memberparliaments should also encourage ASEAN nations to uphold the United NationConvention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982 as reference in determining maritimeentitlements, sovereign rights and legitimate interests over maritime zones.
In her opinion, a Code of Conduct inthe East Sea (COC) should also be fostered as the mutually agreeable platformfor dialogue and consultation between ASEAN and China on the East Sea. Suchgood process can be reflected on the ground, she hoped.
The Speaker said the theme of thisyear’s General Assembly marks the increasingly important role of the parliamentsespecially in this time of COVID-19 pandemic, which is impacting so many livesand limiting economic activities causing the region to be in the verge ofrecession.
To this situation, she called onparliaments to encourage governments of ASEAN member states to deliver adequatepolicy to curb the spread of COVID-19, reduce greater economic impact andensuring social welfare.
She suggested parliaments optimisetheir role by performing legislative duty related to the effort of combatingCOVID-19 and its socio-economic impact, such as issuing laws related to fiscalstimulus or strengthening social safety net.
Parliaments should also improveoversight to ensure that those laws would be implemented, and their benefitswould be felt by the people, she said.
To advance as a cohesive and responsiveASEAN Community, she highlighted a need to enhance capacity to respondeffectively to emerging regional challenges, including in the context of humansecurity.
“I believe that we as one ASEANCommunity will overcome this difficult time and working together in addressingother regional challenges,” she stressed.
“With the spirit of ‘Gotong Royong’,a traditional Indonesian term of working collectively, we will be able toachieve one common goal to surpass this global COVID-19 pandemic”, she said./.
VNA
