At the press conference (Source: VNA)Hanoi VNA) – More than 350 delegates from member nationshave registered to attend the 26th Annual Meeting of the Asia-PacificParliamentary Forum (APPF-26), heard a press conference in Hanoi on January 17.
Nguyen Van Giau, Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly Committeefor External Relations, said at the press conference that Vietnam is hosting theAPPF-26 to build on the success of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week 2017 in DaNang via the parliamentary channel.
Vietnam is now ready for the meeting, said Giau, who is also deputyhead of the APPF-26 organising committee.
The APPF-26 will be held in Hanoi from January 18-21 under the theme of“Parliamentary partnership for peace, innovation and sustainable development”.
The annual meeting consists of a meeting of women parliamentarians,which will focus on promoting gender equality for sustainable development andshared prosperity. It also features four plenary sessions on the topics of politics-security,economy-trade, regional cooperation in Asia-Pacific, and the future of APPF.
Thirty-four bilateral meetings are scheduled to take place on thesidelines of the APPF-26.
By January 16, 11 participating APPF members submitted 44 draftresolutions, including six from Vietnam. By the end of its course, the meeting isexpected to adopt resolutions and issue the Hanoi Declaration.
The APPF was officially formed in Tokyo, Japan, in 1993. The forum nowgathers 27 members, namely Australia, Cambodia, Canada, China, Chile, Colombia,Costa Rica, Ecuador, Fiji, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, the MarshallIslands, Mexico, Micronesia, Mongolia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, thePhilippines, the Republic of Korea, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, the US, andVietnam.
The mechanism aims to directly assist the APEC, contributing to peace,stability and prosperity in the region.
The APPF is a mechanism that enables parliamentarians to discuss issuesof common concern, and to deepen their understanding of the region and theinterests and experience of its diverse members. The forum’s proceedingsaddress political, security, economic, social and cultural issues, thusfurthering regional cooperation and building relations between and amongparliamentarians from the Asia-Pacific region.-VNA
