36th AIPA General Assembly winds up

The 36th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-36) closed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on September 11, following the second plenary session the same day.

At the closing ceremony, AIPA-36 President and Speaker of the House of Representatives of Malaysian Amin Haji Mulia affirmed the success of the AIPA-36 with the active participation of all delegates from AIPA member countries and observer nations, expressing the belief that the AIPA-36’s outcomes will actively contribute to the realisation of the ASEAN Community’s goals.

During the general assembly, seven AIPA committees exchanged views on regional and international issues of shared concern.

Tabled matters that were included in resolutions dug deep into problems of high public interest such as narrowing development gap, enhancing tertiary education, consolidating the ASEAN Community through good governance, and promoting respect for women and girls’ rights, he noted.

AIPA delegates also discussed potential cooperation areas with parliamentarians from observer countries like Australia, New Zealand, Belarus, Russia, the EU, China, India, Japan and Timor Leste.

The AIPA-36 adopted 25 important resolutions related to the development of ASEAN, especially in political, economic, social and organisational matters. Issues regarding women, gender equality and the elderly were also highlighted, Mulia said.

He announced that Myanmar could not be the next host of the AIPA-37 in 2016 as the country will organise its general election next year. As a result, Malaysia will continue to hold this position until September 2016.

At the closing ceremony, heads of AIPA countries’ delegations signed the AIPA-36 joint statement.

The AIPA-36 took place from September 6-12 under the theme “Engaging a People-Oriented, People-Centred ASEAN Community Towards Inclusiveness”.-VNA