ASEAN Parliamentarians Play Important Role In Post-2015 ASEAN Community

By Minggu Simon Lhasa BANGKOK, April 2 (Bernama) -- Parliamentarians play an indispensable role in the realisation of sustainable development goals as they are to transpose these goals into national legislations, plans and strategies and supervise the process of implementation, said ASEAN secretary-general Le Luong Minh. He said to assist ASEAN in accelerating integration and its ability to sustain the process, ASEAN parliamentarians were expected not only to communicate the ASEAN vision to the people, but also facilitate early ratification, enforce and execute the agreements, and help harmonise legislations and policies. In the post-2015 people-centred ASEAN Community, ASEAN parliamentarians would have a greater role to play, he said at the 132nd Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) assembly which began on March 28 and concluded Wednesday. The theme was “Sustainable Development Goals: Turning Words Into Actions.” ASEAN, as elsewhere in the world, despite abundant natural and human resources, does face a big challenge in keeping a delicate balance between environmental sustainability and economic development, he said. Established in 1889, the IPU is an international organisation consisting of the parliaments of sovereign states. Currently, it has 166 member parliaments and 10 associate members. -- BERNAMA