On the morning of August 7, the 44th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-44) with the theme "Proactively adapting parliaments for a stable and prosperous ASEAN" officially opened solemnly in the capital city of Jakarta, Indonesia.
National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue led the Vietnamese National Assembly delegation to attend the opening ceremony. The first plenary session of the 44th AIPA General Assembly took place in the afternoon of the same day. National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue delivered an important speech at this session.
The World & Vietnam Newspaper respectfully introduces the full text of the speech by National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue:
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| National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue attends the first plenary session of the 44th AIPA General Assembly. (Source: VNA) |
Dear Ms. Puan Maharani, Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia, President of the AIPA-44 General Assembly,
Dear Presidents, Heads of Member Parliaments, and Observer Parliaments,
Dear ladies and gentlemen,
On behalf of the Vietnamese National Assembly Delegation, I would like to send to the President of AIPA and all delegates attending the 44th AIPA General Assembly my sincere greetings and the sentiments of friendship and solidarity of the National Assembly and people of Vietnam.
I appreciate the thorough and excellent preparation work of the host country Indonesia, and agree with the agenda of the 44th AIPA General Assembly with the theme "Proactively adapting parliaments for a stable and prosperous ASEAN".
Ladies and gentlemen,
The world situation is changing rapidly, complexly and unpredictably. Peace, cooperation, association and development are still the major trends, but strategic competition is increasing, expanding to many economic, trade and technological fields, affecting the security and development of countries, especially small and medium-sized countries.
Unstable factors of local conflicts, territorial and resource sovereignty disputes; development gap, social inequality; severe epidemics; severe climate change; cyber security, food security, energy security, terrorism, transnational crime, etc. are creating enormous, multidimensional challenges.
Besides, we are also taking advantage of the opportunities from the remarkable progress of the 4.0 industrial revolution; the expansion of new economic forms and spaces through accelerating the trend of digital transformation, sustainable, green and inclusive development.
In that context, we hope that the ASEAN Parliaments will play an important role in strengthening ASEAN's solidarity and centrality, maintaining peace, security and stability in the region; considering this a prerequisite to help ASEAN countries have a favorable environment for economic and social development and rapid growth recovery as the ASEAN theme for 2023 is "ASEAN Stature: The Heart of Growth".
There is an Indonesian proverb that says “A strong tree is not afraid of storms”. Despite facing many “headwinds”, we are proud that ASEAN has always stood firm and has never had a better position than today. The more “storms” we have gone through, the brighter we see an ASEAN spirit of self-reliance, cohesion and proactive adaptation, solidarity and unity, readiness to cooperate and dialogue in the spirit of the rule of law. ASEAN has strived to demonstrate its central role, as one of the main subjects in creating, shaping and leading the security environment, the cooperative structure and regional order.
During that process, AIPA and its member parliaments have played a very important role because they represent the voices of the states, political parties and people in the member countries. AIPA's contributions have been clearly demonstrated in its development process and its international prestige has been increasingly high. It can be said that AIPA's image is always reflected in ASEAN's successes.
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| National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue speaks. (Source: VNA) |
As a responsible member, Vietnam will do its utmost, together with ASEAN countries and AIPA member parliaments, to build a strong ASEAN - an AIPA that proactively adapts, "turns danger into opportunity", towards a stable, prosperous and sustainable ASEAN Community. On that basis, I would like to propose:
Firstly, strengthen solidarity, promote the central role and strategic value of ASEAN; seek support from partners and the international community in ensuring a peaceful, secure and stable environment in the region; ensure the principles of independence, autonomy, maintain consensus with ASEAN's common stance and viewpoint, following the "ASEAN way"; persistently take peace as the goal, dialogue as the tool, cooperation as the motto to resolve disputes in the spirit of the rule of law, in accordance with common rules, standards of conduct and international law.
Second, strengthen and expand intra-bloc cooperation in trade, investment, tourism, people-to-people exchange and technology transfer, financial and monetary cooperation, cooperation in the field of safe and sustainable digital transformation, and equitable energy transition.
At the same time, strengthen ASEAN relations with partners to narrow the development gap, effectively respond to non-traditional security challenges such as epidemics, natural disasters, cybercrime, transnational crime, climate change, energy security, water security; enhance sub-regional cooperation, contribute to ensuring inclusive growth, equitable and sustainable development; improve the ability to respond to regional and global challenges.
Third, ASEAN parliaments need to continue to enhance their role in law-making, create a favorable legal corridor, and strengthen their role in supervising ASEAN governments in successfully implementing the Master Plans for building the ASEAN Community 2025 on all three pillars: politics - security, economy, culture - society, and towards the Post-2025 Vision.
Fourthly, it is recommended that AIPA continue to innovate, become an effective parliamentary cooperation channel, coordinate well between the Parliaments and Governments of countries, and continue to focus on strengthening relations with partners who are AIPA Observers to create "collective strength" to contribute to resolving the challenges that the region is facing. On that basis, Vietnam supports the admission of the Parliaments of Cuba, Turkey and Armenia as AIPA Observers.
Fifth, at the 44th AIPA General Assembly, Vietnam proposed three draft resolutions to help ASEAN exploit its advantages in science, technology, and innovation to serve economic recovery and development, and exploit the potential for development in agriculture, food, and forestry. Vietnam hopes to receive the consensus and support of the ASEAN Parliaments.
Ladies and gentlemen,
On this occasion, I am pleased to announce: In September 2023, in Hanoi, the National Assembly of Vietnam, in coordination with the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), will organize the 9th Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians with the theme "The role of youth in promoting the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals through digital transformation and innovation".
I would like to respectfully invite the Parliaments of ASEAN countries and observer countries to send delegations of young parliamentarians to attend this very important and meaningful event.
I wish Madam President and delegates good health, happiness and success. I wish the 44th AIPA General Assembly success as expected.
Thank you very much".
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