Hanoi (VNA) – The 26th Annual Meeting of theAsia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF-26), which is taking place in Hanoi fromJanuary 18-21, will have an important mission of orienting member parliamentstowards a shared future of bringing practical benefits for their countries andpeople.

Do Manh Hung, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Office and head of thesubcommittee for APPF-26 information and communication has stated in an articleon the purpose and meaning of the forum.

The Vietnamese National Assembly (NA)’s hosting of the annual event aims toproactively realise the country’s foreign policy of independence,self-reliance, diversification , multilateralisation of relations, activeintegration into global economy, maintaining peaceful and stable environment,creating favourable conditions to the national construction and protection aswell as strengthening Vietnam’s position and prestige in the internationalarena.

Also, the organisation of the event is a highlight in the NA’s foreign affairs,making significant contributions to the nation’s diplomatic achievements, henoted.

This is the secondtime Vietnam has hosted the APPF’s annual meeting after the 13th version in Quang Ninh province, in January 2005, showing the Vietnamese NA’srole and responsibility in the APPF while popularising images of the NA as arenovated, dynamic, active and responsible one in the eyes of internationalfriends.

The APPF was established on March 15, 1993, with the purpose of building trustamong parliaments in the Asia-Pacific via the enhancement of dialogues betweenregional parliamentarians, thus contributing to regional peace, sustainabilityand prosperity.

The forum has become an important inter-parliamentary forum which gathers 27member parliaments: Australia, Cambodia, Canada, China, Chile, Colombia, CostaRica, Ecuador, Fiji, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, the Marshall Islands,Mexico, Micronesia, Mongolia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, thePhilippines, the RoK, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, the US, and Vietnam.

Particularly, in the context of deeper globalisation, together with theAsia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, the APPF has affirmed its roleas a crucial dialogue and cooperation mechanism among regional nations.-VNA