APPF-26 final plenary session approves Hanoi Declaration

The Hanoi Declaration on a New Vision for Asia – Pacific Parliamentary Partnership was approved at the APPF-26’s final plenary session in Hanoi on January 20 afternoon.

NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (black long dress) and delegates (Photo: NDO/Duy Linh).

Under the chair of Vietnamese National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, the participating APPF members also adopted a number of amendments to the APPF Rule of Procedure related to making the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians a permanent featureof the APPF.

The session approved the selection of Cambodia as host of the 27th annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF-27), which is scheduled for January 2019 in Siem Reap. The Vietnam National Assembly will hand over the APPF chair position to its Cambodian counterpart in May 2018.

Fourteen resolutions were also passed at the session, including those on promoting gender equality, economic growth and free trade, and joint actions on climate change response; supporting micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in digital age; parliamentary diplomacy for peace, security and prosperity in the region and in the world, among other issues.

At the function, all of the heads of delegations signed the APPF-26 Joint Communiqué.

Speaking at the event, Mohammed Ouzzine, Vice President of the Parliament of Morocco said that the Moroccan parliament believes that the APPF is as an important forum that annually brings together parliamentarians from a vibrant and dynamic region, which is becoming a major economic group of nations on the international level in terms of trade investment and sustainable development.

In her closing speech, NA Chairwoman Ngan said the APPF is committed to continuing to promote a comprehensively connected Asia-Pacific, a trade system based on free, equal, transparent and inclusive principles for the mutual benefits of all people, ensuring that no one is left behind.

APPF-26 proves the necessity of turning words into actions, calling on support from developed countries for their developing peers in the implementation of the UN agenda on sustainable development toward 2030 and the Paris Agreement, she noted.

The adoption of the Hanoi Declaration is a success of the APPF-26, NA Chairwoman Ngan stated, adding that it succeeds other APPF declarations and defines a new vision for the Asia – Pacific Parliamentary partnership after 25 years of development.

In the future, the APPF needs to continue refreshing its agenda and strengthening its cooperation with multilateral institutions such as APEC and other cooperative mechanisms, the senior Vietnamese legislator suggested.

During this process, the Vietnam National Assembly will continue working with APPF and its member parliaments to realise the vision that the APPF-26 has put forth and turn the recommendations and resolutions proposed at the meeting into specific actions, she said.

(Source: NDO)