Hanoi (VNA) – Speaker of the House of Representatives of Thailand Chuan Leekpai has recently showed his support for Vietnamese National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan’s call for ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) member states to jointly protect ASEAN against the COVID-19 pandemic.

In his letter in reply to Ngan’s March 30 letter, Chuan Leekpai stressed that it’s time for all to take actions.

AIPA parliamentarians have the responsibility to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with civilians to help them overcome difficulties caused by the pandemic, he noted.

The speaker also expressed his backing for the leadership role of Ngan as the Chair of the 41st AIPA General Assembly, as she had a quick response to the regional situation by appropriate actions of the legislative body.

Suggesting the organisation of an extraordinary teleconference if necessary, Leekpai said that regional cooperation is essential at this time to jointly protect ASEAN against the COVID-19 pandemic.

On March 30, the Vietnamese top legislator sent a letter to heads of the organisation's members, calling for their engagement in the fight against COVID-19.

In the spirit of “cohesive and responsive”, she proposed AIPA members to join hands to protect the common home ASEAN in face of the pandemic.

Ngan wrote that peoples in ASEAN and the globe are facing an unprecedented threat for decades - the COVID-19 pandemic.

In her position, she expressed her sympathies to the peoples in the bloc as well as the mankind over the losses caused by COVID-19.

More than ever, the ASEAN Community needs to uphold the spirit of solidarity, sharing, mutual assistance and support amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Ngan stressed./.