Proposal for Enhanced Inter-Country Collaboration Within ASEAN by Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue

Attending the 44th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-44) in Jakarta, Indonesia from August 7, Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue presented five key proposals for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue spoke at the first plenary session of the 44th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-44) (photo: VNA).

The Vietnamese legislator suggested enhancing solidarity, centrality, and strategic values of ASEAN as the first key proposal.

Hue also proposed optimizing the support of partners and the international community in ensuring a regional environment of peace, security, and stability, ensuring the principles of independence and self-reliance, and maintaining consensus with ASEAN’s common stance and viewpoints.

He suggested taking peace as the goal, dialogue as the tool, and cooperation as the motto to address disputes in the spirit of respect for law, in line with common principles and a code of conduct, as well as international law.

He called for stronger intra-bloc cooperation in trade, investment, and tourism. It is also important to create stronger cooperation between ASEAN countries in people-to-people exchanges, technology transfer, finance-monetary, safe and sustainable digital transformation, and just energy transition.

ASEAN should foster relations with its partners to narrow development gaps, effectively respond to non-traditional security challenges such as diseases, natural disasters, cybercrimes, cross-border crimes, climate change, and energy and water resources security. It should also boost sub-regional cooperation, contributing to ensuring inclusive growth and equal and sustainable development, and raising its resilience to regional and global challenges, he said.

The Vietnamese leader stressed the need for ASEAN parliaments to continue improving their roles in law building and strengthen their supervision over governments during the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint 2025 in all three pillars of politics-security, economy, and culture-society, towards the post-2025 vision.

Meanwhile, AIPA should further reform, pay more attention to relations with partners that are its observers, he continued, stressing that Vietnam supports the admission of Cuba, Turkey, and Armenia as AIPA’s observers.

The last key point of the proposal is that, at AIPA-44, Vietnam has three draft resolutions aiming to help ASEAN optimize advantages in science, technology, and innovation in service of economic recovery and development, as well as its potential to promote agricultural, food, and forestry development.

Vietnam wishes to receive support from other ASEAN parliaments for the proposals, he said, adding that representatives from the ASEAN parliaments and observers are invited to attend the 9th Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians, slated for September in Hanoi. Hue also affirmed that Vietnam would try its best, together with other ASEAN member countries and AIPA parliaments, to build a strong and responsive ASEAN and AIPA and turn risks into opportunities towards a stable, prosperous, and stable ASEAN Community.

Achieving regional peace, security, and stability through dialogue and cooperation The Vietnamese delegation at the 44th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-44) (Photo: VNA). Delegates shared the view that AIPA member parliaments should carry forward their roles in strengthening ASEAN’s solidarity and centrality in maintaining regional peace, security, and stability, which is the prerequisite for a favorable environment for rapid socio-economic development and recovery.