The four-day 25th General Assembly of the ASEAN
Inter-Parliamentary Organization (AIPO) ended in Phnom Penh on
Thursday after signing a joint communique by leaders of the AIPO
delegations.
In his closing remarks, Cambodian National Assembly President
Prince Norodom Ranariddh, also the current AIPO president, called
the meeting "fruitful," and said it had intensive discussions on
various issues of importance to AIPO and ASEAN.
In the joint communique, the assembly called on the member states
of ASEAN to "implement the ASEAN Security Community Plan of Action
as early as possible, once it is adopted by the ASEAN leaders," so
as to enhance greater peace, stability and security in the ASEAN
region.
In addition to the important topics of the ASEAN Security Community
and the Asia-Europe Meeting, the lawmakers also discussed cultural
and eco-tourism to stimulate economic growth. Moreover, the meeting
urged the ASEAN member countries to promote economic cooperation
especially in agricultural production in ASEAN's new member
countries to reduce the gaps between the richer and the poor.
The assembly, meanwhile, urged the ASEAN summit to consider the
establishment of an ASEAN Anti-Poverty Fund which was endorsed by
the 24th AIPO General Assembly.
Also in the joint communique were the combating of the drug menace
and the prevention of the spread of HIV/AIDS in the region. The
ASEAN lawmakers urged all governments to develop a common minimum
standard of treatment to be made available to all HIV-positive
people in Southeast Asia, and re-examine their HIV/AIDS programs to
ensure that poor and vulnerable groups had adequate access to
information about prevention and treatment programs.
More than 300 delegates from inside and outside the AIPO took part
in the four-day meeting between Sept. 13 and 16. ASEAN members of
Brunei and Myanmar attended the meeting as special observers,
because they do not have functioning legislatures.
Dialogues with observers from outside ASEAN, including China, Japan
and South Korea, were focused on regional security and economic
cooperation including trade, the environment and information
technology.
The meeting announced that the 26th General Assembly of AIPO should
be held on Sept. 4-9, 2005 in Vientiane, Laos.
A separate meeting of Women Parliamentarians of AIPO (WAIPO) was
held on Sept. 12 before the assembly opened, which discussed
efforts to enhance women's economic security and the role of
parliaments in combating the trafficking of women and children in
Southeast Asia.
It was the first time for Cambodia to host such meeting. Cambodia
became the eighth full member of AIPO at the 20th General Assembly
in Manila in 1999.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar,
the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
(Xinhua News Agency September 17, 2004)