NA President supports to improve working approach of AIPA

(KPL) President of National Assembly, Mr Thongsing Thammavong stressed that it is necessary to improve the standard of working approach of ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) and AIPA liking role so as to raise high responsibility in expansion of ASEAN role.
He added that, “a good arrangement in coordinating system between parliament and Government, and between ASEAN Secretariat and AIPA Secretariat and between Chairman of AIPA and Chairman ASEAN is very important to move forward the ASEAN role.
This is the NA President’s statement during he attended the 29th AIPA General Assembly held from 19 to 22 August in Singapore.
The event was attended by 18 delegations from permanent AIPA country member, special observing member countries and observing delegations.
Addressing the opening of the annual ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly meeting, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong urged parliamentarians from Southeast Asian nations to support the grouping’s integration policies, in particular the implementation of the Charter.
He said that as intermediaries between the political leadership and the people, parliamentarians occupy a unique position.
"National parliaments play a key role in supporting policies that foster closer integration of ASEAN countries, and in particular the implementation of ASEAN agreements, which in several member countries have to be ratified by the legislature," he said.
The Singaporean PM also called on ASEAN countries to enhance regional cooperation to overcome global economic difficulties which have made impacts upon many Asian countries.
During the five-day meeting, delegates from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam focus their discussions on energy and food security, environment, poverty reduction, religion, and legal cooperation in the fight against human and drug trafficking with the aim of accelerating the building of the ASEAN Community and implementing issues relating to the AIPA’ s organising affairs.
The AIPA meeting has approved various resolutions linking to parliamentary role to implement in the ASEAN charter, poverty reduction, economic linking, energy, global warming impact to environment and other cooperation frameworks among ASEAN member countries.
The joint statement of AIPA has also been approved at the meeting.
ASEAN's members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.