Chuan Leekpai, President of the National Assembly of Thailand (Photo: VNA)Bangkok (VNA) - Chuan Leekpai, President of theNational Assembly of Thailand, has expressed his firm belief that the ongoing41st General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly(AIPA-41) will be the most successful under the host of Vietnam.
In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)’sreporters in Bangkok, Chuan Leekpai extended his deepest appreciation toChairwoman of the Vietnamese National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan for thesuccess in her tenure as the AIPA Chair.
“Ngan has shown her tireless efforts, wise counsel andperseverance,” he said, stressing that in the past year, the achievement of allAIPA activities would not have been possible without the Vietnamese toplegislator at the helm.
To illustrate, he said, the COVID-19 pandemic has posed the globalhealth security threat to humanity throughout the region. In the most difficultmoment, the Vietnamese legislature has made every effort not only to deal withthe spread of COVID-19 but also to hold three significant AIPA conferences.
Highlighting the great success of these meetings in times of theglobal health crisis, Chuan Leekpai said all the success of AIPA would not havebeen possible without excellent management by the AIPA staff of the VietnameseNA.
He suggested AIPA-41 focus its agenda on how to promoteparliamentary diplomacy among the countries in the region as a complementarytool to move the community forward to achieve sustainable development in allareas, in line with the event’s theme of “Parliamentary Diplomacy for a Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN Community”.
According to the Thai legislator, AIPA has demonstrated its roleas a key parliamentary organisation for the deliberation of regional issues,which illustrates vividly the power of parliamentary diplomacy in ASEAN. Thisgoes in line with the global trend of international parliamentary diplomacy bythe Inter-Parliamentary Union, he said.
He stressed it is necessary to reaffirm the role and the supportof ASEAN parliaments in the ASEAN community building process and also emphasizethe significance of parliamentary diplomacy for peace, security and stabilityamidst rapid and complex developments in regional and global situations toreinforce ASEAN’s centrality in regional and world affairs.
Chuan Leekpai said he believes that all AIPA members are willingto exchange experience or best practices with the floor in order to strengthenthe connectivity as well as mutual understanding within the region.
Asked about Thailand’s message to the meeting, he said Thailandwould like to exchange ideas with AIPA colleagues on how to tackle thedifficulties during the pandemic.
According to the Thai top legislator, members of parliamentsshould stay connected to the people in order to get to know what they want andfind the way to respond to those matters properly.
He said within the region, a closer inter-parliamentarycooperation is necessary; exchanging new-normal knowledge or best practices tocope with any difficulties in the period of pandemic should be promoted.
ASEAN unity could be essentially strengthened through the harmonisationof laws of the member states, he said./.
VNA
