CAMBODIA WANTS TO HOST APA'S NEXT PLENARY SESSION

Bandung, West Java, Dec. 10 (ANTARA) - Cambodia has asked Indonesia to support its intention to host the next plenary session of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly after Syria.

Nguon Nhel, head of Cambodia's delegation to the APA plenary session being held in Bandung, conveyed the request when meeting with APA President Marzuki Alie, concurrently Indonesia's House Speaker, here on Thursday.

Syria will be the next host of the Plenary Session of APA. Besides Cambodia, Russia also wished to host the next plenary session of APA.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono officially opened the Fourth Plenary Session of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) at the Merdeka Building in Bandung, last Tuesday.

At least 174 delegates from 26 member countries of APA, four observer countries and three parliamentary organizations in Asia are participating in the APA Plenary Session.

The Plenary Session's theme was "The Role of Asian Parliaments in Strengthening Democracy Toward Peace, Welfare and Justice in the Asian Region."
The Indonesian Parliament (DPR) has been holding the APA presidency since last year and organized the APA`s Third Plenary Session in Jakarta in 2008.

APA currently has 39 parliaments as members, 18 parliaments and three parliamentary organizations as observers.

The APA was born out of the Association of Asian Parliaments for Peace (AAPP) in November, 2006, in Tehran.

The establishment of the AAPP goes back to 1999 when a group of Asian parliamentarians decided to join forces toward promoting peace and human rights in Asia.