Jakarta (VNA) 🐲- Even though the41st General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) is heldonline, the event would be a great momentum for ASEAN Member of Parliaments toreaffirm their commitment and to accelerate the efforts for alleviating theadverse impact of the COVID-19 in the people’s livelihood, affirmed a seniorofficial of the Indonesian House of Representatives. 

Chairman ofthe Committee for Inter- Parliamentary Cooperation under the Indonesian House of Representatives Fadli Zon madethe remarks in an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency’s reporters inJakarta ahead of the AIPA 41, slated to take place from September 8-10. He expressed his belief that AIPA could becomethe effective platform not only to promote awareness about the impacts ofCOVID-19 outbreak, but also to generate such joint-efforts and actions onseizing the opportunities and responding effectively to the challenges that regionalcountries all face nowadays. “As the world today is facing serious globalcrises of COVID-19 where the pandemic does not know borders – spreading aroundthe world in the same way and affecting people in the same way – it is indeed astark reminder for our commitment to multilateralism which at the same timebecomes an opportunity to strengthen our collective responsibility with acoordinated response, in line with the spirit of a cohesive and responsiveASEAN to achieve a community that is united, peaceful, integrated, and resilient.Our responses will determine how fast the world recovers, and how well wehandle this challenge,” Fadli said. According to him, the spirit of mutualcooperation has been central to Indonesia’s efforts in curbing the pandemic.Many people have participated in delivering such humanitarian aids, includingmoney, foods, and other forms of help. He noted his belief that this effortcould be amplified at the regional level by the enhanced cooperation andcollaboration among AIPA member of parliaments in fighting COVID-19 pandemic. The Indonesian lawmaker affirmed that theHouse of Representatives of Indonesia fully appreciates the National Assemblyof Vietnam chairmanship of AIPA and as the host of the 41st AIPAGeneral Assembly this year. “Under Vietnam’s leadership, we areconfident that AIPA will be able to move forward in the effort to realize a Cohesiveand Responsive ASEAN,” he said, adding that the Indonesian House is alsoassured that the positive outcome documents in this year’s General Assemblyreflect common interest of AIPA Member Parliaments that is based on the spiritof ASEAN Centrality, regional security and humanity. He went on to say that the 41st General Assembly with Vietnam’s chairmanship symbolizes the strong will of AIPAMember Parliaments in encouraging and supporting ASEAN Member Statesgovernments to deliver adequate policy in enhancing regional cooperation tocurb the spread of COVID-19, to address its adverse impact, and to cope withother regional challenges. Regarding the cooperation between the IndonesianHouse of Representatives and the National Assembly of Vietnam, Fadli noted thatthe two countries will be celebrating the 65th anniversary of diplomaticrelations on December, this year. Since the era of President Soekarno andPresident Ho Chi Minh, Indonesia and Vietnam remain both friends and strategicpartners, he said, stressing that the relations between both countries will continueto evolve for more decades to come. He said the two countries should work tomaximize the bilateral Plan of Action on the Implementation of StrategicPartnership 2019 – 2023, which marks the new phase of cooperation as guidancein strengthening bilateral ties, through the engagement of all stakeholdersespecially parliaments, through parliamentary cooperation. According to him, the parliamentarycooperation should be a strategic partner in support of Indonesia-Vietnam’sbilateral relation. With regards to that aim, the House of Representatives of Indonesiatogether with the National Assembly of Vietnam has established the bilateralfriendship group and multilaterally, the two parliaments have supported eachother in parliamentary forums such as AIPA, APA, IPU as well as other relevantforums.

He concluded that through this year’s AIPAGeneral Assembly, Indonesia and Vietnam would voice common concerns over theneed to safeguard peace, stability and security based on humanity in the regionwhile enhancing cooperation to curb the spread of COVID-19 and its diverse impactto the people of ASEAN./.