Meetings of the Political, Economic and Social Committees of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) and dialogues between AIPA and its observers were the main activities of the ongoing AIPA 33 in Lombok, Indonesia, on Sept. 19.

AIPA observers include Australia, Belarus, Canada, China, the European Parliament, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Russia.

Discussions of the AIPA committees focused on raising people’s awareness of and encouraging their participation and role in building the ASEAN Community as well as increasing cooperation on the basis of respecting international laws, reached agreements and peaceful negotiations through dialogue mechanisms to resolve disputes and differences in order to maintain regional peace, security and stability.

The committees also discussed how to strengthen regional efforts and cooperation to fight money laundering and raise people’s awareness of as well as their involvement in disaster mitigation programmes, and issues relating to AIPA structure and its secretariat.

At a dialogue with observers later the same day, AIPA members focused their discussion on human resources development and capacity enhancement, promoting joint studies and transfer of strategies in agriculture, and boosting parliamentarian cooperation between AIPA members and observers.

AIPA also asked its member parliaments to support and encourage ASEAN countries to increase consultations so as to seek peaceful solutions for regional issues on the basis of the 1976 Southeast Asia Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, the 2008 ASEAN Charter and the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Declaration on the six-point principle guiding the settlement of the East Sea issues which was announced in Phnom Penh on July 20.-VNA