Vietnam steps up partnership with Asia-Pacific parliaments

National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan will attend APPF-27 in Siem Reap, Cambodia, from January 14 to 16 follows an invitation from Chairman of the Cambodian National Assembly Samdech Akka Moha Ponhea Chakrei Heng Samrin, who doubles as Chairman of the APPF 27.

The APPF was established on March 15, 1993, with the purpose of building trust among parliaments in the Asia-Pacific via the enhancement of dialogues between regional parliamentarians, thus contributing to regional peace, sustainability and prosperity.

The APPF gathers 27 member parliaments: Australia, Cambodia, Canada, China, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Fiji, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, the Marshall Islands, Mexico, Micronesia, Mongolia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, the US, and Vietnam.

In the context of deeper globalisation, together with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, the APPF has affirmed its role as a crucial dialogue and cooperation mechanism among regional nations. 

Since becoming an APPF member in January 1995, the Vietnamese NA has actively participated in all activities of the forum with the first most special event being the hosting of the APPF-13 in January 2005 in Ha Long, the northern province of Quang Ninh.

Through APPF meetings, Vietnam’s legislative body made proposals and recommendations to step up coordination, contribute to maintaining peace, stability, and prosperity in the region, while expanding the forum’s ties with other inter-parliamentary organizations in the world. 

At the APPF-26 in Hanoi from January 18-21, 2018, the Hanoi Declaration was adopted, setting forth a new vision for parliamentary ties towards 2030. It boosted the partnership between APPF and APEC to realize Asian-Pacific people’s aspiration about a region of peace and development.

Under the theme “Strengthening parliamentary partnership for peace, security, and sustainable development”, the APPF-27 will set priority on the goal of safeguarding peace, security and sustainable development.

Through their attendance at the APPF-27, Vietnamese parliamentarians continue performing their proactive involvement in multilateral parliamentary diplomatic activities, thus heightening the country’s role and position at this forum and joining in diplomatic efforts for peace, cooperation and development.