The Vietnamese National Assembly, as Chair of the 31st ASEAN Inter-parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-31), hosted in Hanoi on Feb. 5 an appointment ceremony for Antonio Cuenco of the Philippines as Secretary General of the AIPA in the 2010-2013 term.

This appointment was made in line with an AIPA-30 resolution passed in Thailand .

Vietnamese NA Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong, who currently acts as AIPA Chairman, praised the Philippine Parliament’s nomination of a new Secretary General for AIPA in line with the organisation’s regulations so as to ensure that the Secretariat operates smoothly and also greatly supports Vietnam in performing the duties of its AIPA Chairmanship.

He expressed the hope that the new AIPA Secretary General would make more contributions to helping his organisation realize its goals.

Addressing the event, Cuenco, who was introduced by the Philippine Parliament, said he felt honoured to become the AIPA Secretary General at a time when the organisation is boosting its cooperation with ASEAN, which is implementing a roadmap to build an ASEAN Community by 2015.

The new AIPA Secretary General pledged that he will work closely with the ASEAN Secretary General and said he believed that under the Vietnamese NA’s leadership, AIPA will advance closer to its set goals and have a more important voice in the ASEAN Community.

Earlier, the new AIPA Secretary General was received by Vietnamese NA and AIPA Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong./.