Kuala Lumpur (VNA) - Vietnam is making positive contributions during its Presidency of the 41st General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA 41) for a cohesive and responsive ASEAN Community, the Foreignaffairassia website has said.

As the host country of AIPA 41, the website wrote, Vietnam is playing a leadership role and contribute significantly to the success of the event, which is taking place from September 8-10.

The National Assembly of Vietnam on August 8 proposed hosting AIPA 41, with the theme “Parliamentary diplomacy for a cohesive and responsive ASEAN Community”, via video conference from September 8-10. The dialogue between ASEAN leaders and AIPA leaders was held online within the framework of the 36th ASEAN Summit in June.

The organisation of AIPA 41 and related activities is a highlight of the NA’s external affairs as it assumes its Presidency of AIPA for the third time, it said.

In March 2020, NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, as President of AIPA, sent a letter to heads of AIPA member parliaments and the AIPA Secretary-General calling on AIPA leaders to join hands with governments in the fight against COVID-19.

Since joining AIPA in 1995, the NA has made key contributions to the General Assembly.

In 2007, it proposed organising dialogues between ASEAN leaders and AIPA member legislatures, which are now held regularly within the framework of ASEAN Year and AIPA.

Vietnam also proposed that the AIPA Committee on Economic Matters issue a resolution on micro- and small-sized enterprise development - said to be a notable proposal from the country.

In 2020, as President of AIPA 41, Vietnam has actively organised a wide range of activities in different forms due to COVID-19.

Vietnam set two goals at AIPA 41, including proposing the establishment of a meeting of young parliamentarians of AIPA to uphold the role of parliamentarians and link AIPA’s activities with those of the International Parliamentary Union (IPU) in connection to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

According to Ngan, AIPA supports the implementation of ASEAN initiatives and continues to support the governments of ASEAN member countries in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic, improving ASEAN countries’ capacity to respond to emergencies, recovering post-pandemic economic activities, and maintaining stable development in the region.

She stressed that AIPA looks forward to more exchange and coordination with ASEAN at all levels. In the time to come, it will continue to strengthen cooperation with ASEAN to ensure transparency, openness, and a rules-based approach, thus highlighting its central role./.