The opening ceremony of the 26th Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF-26) in Hanoi on January 18 (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - The 26th Annual Meetingof the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF-26), hosted by the NationalAssembly (NA) of Vietnam, is one of the country’s major diplomatic events amidits extensive and intensive international integration.
Together with the successful hosting of the APECYear 2017, the APPF-26, which opened in the capital city of Hanoi on January18, is making significant contributions to the nation’s diplomaticachievements.
It forms part of the efforts to implementVietnam’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification andmultilateralisation of relations, active integration into the world,maintaining a peaceful and stable environment, creating favourable conditions fornational construction and protection as well as strengthening Vietnam’sposition and prestige in the international arena.
Enhancing partnerships betweenVietnamese and APPF member parliaments
According to Nguyen Van Giau, Chairman of theVietnamese NA’s Committee for External Relations, more than 350 delegates from APPFmember nations have registered to attend the four-day meeting.
The APPF-26 is an opportunity for the Vietnamese NAto strengthen diplomatic relations and partnerships with its regionalcounterparts via bilateral meetings with delegations during their stay in Hanoi,including those from the world’s powers such as the US, Russia, China, Japan,Canada and Australia. The event also helps affirm the Vietnamese NA’s role andreputation at regional and international inter-parliamentary forums.
Having recognized the importance of partnershipsbetween Vietnam and Asia-Pacific nations, over the past 20 years, the VietnameseNA has made continuous, active and responsible contributions to the APPF, saidDo Manh Hung, deputy head of the NA Office and head of the subcommittee forAPPF-26 information and communications.
This is the second time Vietnam has hosted anAPPF annual meeting after the APPF-13 in the northeastern coastal province ofQuang Ninh in January 2005.
Since joining the APPF in January 1995, the Vietnameselegislature has constructively participated in the forum’s activities, reflectedby its presence in all annual APPF meetings, and numerous proposals, many ofwhich were accepted and included in the meetings’ documents.
At the APPF-14 in Indonesia in 2006, the jointdeclaration and other documents of the meeting contained Vietnam’srecommendations on enhancing collaboration between parliaments and governments ofAsia-Pacific countries as well as between the APPF and the APEC, providingdirect support for APEC activities.
Meanwhile, during the APPF-18 in Singapore in2000, and the APPF-19 in Mongolia in 2011, Vietnam raised initiatives regardingresponse to climate change and implementation of the UN millennium developmentgoals, which were adopted at these meetings.
Building on APEC Year2017’s outcomes
A plenary meeting of the APPF-26 (Source: VNA)The APPF-26 is entrusted with a mission to orientmember parliaments towards a shared future of bringing practical benefits tothe regional countries and people. Therefore, the parliamentary mechanism alsoaims to boost effectiveness of the APEC forum.
According to Do Manh Hung, deputy head of the NAOffice and head of the subcommittee for APPF-26 information and communications,one of the key agenda of the APPF-26 is to directly assist the APECby upholding the success of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week 2017 in thecentral city of Da Nang.
In the framework of the event, the delegates are discussingeconomic cooperation in Asia-Pacific, share their views on and contribute toregional efforts toward the expansion of trade-investment engagement andsustainable development, Hung said.
They are also mulling over the parliaments’ rolein boosting inclusive and extensive economic links, food security, sustainableagricultural production, gender equality and the development of micro-, small-and medium-sized enterprises in the digital age, Hung said, adding that thesesub-topics are closely related to the APEC meeting’s agenda.
Elevating Vietnam’sposition and image in the international arena
Hosting important multilateral diplomatic events,including the APPF-26 and APEC Year 2017, has sent a message of Vietnam as anation of peace, stability, dynamism, and development, with friendly people, NAChairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, who is also Chair of APPF-26, told reporters inan interview before the APPF-26.
The APPF-26 is a highlight in the 14th NA’s foreign affairs in 2018. It presents an opportunity for the legislativeagency to show its role and responsibility in the forum while popularising itsimage as a renovated, dynamic, active and responsible one in the eyes ofinternational friends.
Vietnam’s initiatives and ideas put forth for theevent have received approval and praise from international friends, affirmingthe country’s capability and performance in the process of extensive andintensive international integration, Ngan said.
Vietnam cares about the development of the worldand pledges to join hands with the international community to implement commontasks for sustainable development, Ngan said, adding that the Vietnamese NA haspaid attention to parliamentary diplomacy and contributed to developmentorientations of regional and international parliamentary forums.
The NA Chairwoman also hoped that internationaldelegates to the APPF-26 would enjoy the beauty and peace of Hanoi, as well asthe charm of culture and landscapes of Vietnam during their stay.
Vice Chairwoman of the State Duma of the FederalAsssembly of Russia Olga N. Epifanova told Vietnam News Agency correspondents abouther first impression of Vietnam’s hosting APPF-26, saying that she loves everystep of it, particularly the way Vietnam welcomed guests with an warmatmostphere.
On the sidelines of the Meeting of WomenParliamentarians, the first activity of the APPF-26, Stephenie Ritland,Attorney Advisor Federated States of Micronesia, lauded the initiatives Vietnamproposed for the event, including promoting gender equality and empower ofwomen and girls for sustainable development and shared prosperity in theregion, saying that this is an important topic to be included in this forum.
She also hailed the proactiveness of Vietnam andits NA in hosting the APPF-26, saying that Vietnam is taking great steps movingforwards and sets a great global example with a female NA leader.
The APPF was established on March 15, 1993, withthe purpose of building trust among parliaments in the Asia-Pacific via theenhancement of dialogues between regional parliamentarians, thus contributingto regional peace, sustainability and prosperity.
The forum has become an importantinter-parliamentary forum which gathers 27 member parliaments, namelyAustralia, Cambodia, Canada, China, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Fiji,Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, the Marshall Islands, Mexico, Micronesia,Mongolia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, the RoK,Russia, Singapore, Thailand, the US, and Vietnam.-VNA
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