Hanoi (VNA) – The 26th Annual Meeting of the Asia-PacificParliamentary Forum (APPF-26), which took place in Hanoi from January 18 to 21,was declared a success with its agenda fulfilled and the Vietnamese NationalAssembly’s dynamism on display.

APPF-26 was attended by 354 delegates from 20 countries and one observernation. They included seven speakers and 10 vice speakers of parliaments,representatives of the Legislative Council of Brunei – an APPF observer,President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Gabriela Cuevas Barron, IPUSecretary-General Martin Chungong and Vice President Mohammed Ouzzine of theHouse of Representatives of Morocco – guest of host Vietnam.

Agenda successfully fulfilled 

Themed “Parliamentary partnership for peace, innovation and sustainabledevelopment”, APPF-26 featured the second APPF Meeting of WomenParliamentarians and four plenary sessions on politics-security, economy-trade,regional cooperation in Asia-Pacific and the future of APPF.

At the meeting of women parliamentarians, Chairwoman of Vietnam’s NationalAssembly (NA) Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan stressed the importance of the meeting, whichshe said was an important network to connect women parliamentarians to discussgender equality and other issues of shared concern.

Other participants emphasised that parliamentarians need to bring into playtheir role in making policies, at the global, regional or national levels, inmany fields to promote the realisation of Goal 5 on gender equality among the17 Sustainable Development Goals.


At the first plenary session on politics and security, delegates agreed that Asia-Pacificand the world are trending towards peace, cooperation and development. However,the region also faces risks of conflicts, security threats and other issueslike climate change, epidemics and terrorism.

Participants condemned terrorism and called for tackling terrorism andtrans-national crime through international efforts by enhancing cooperationamong governments and agencies in sharing intelligence and improving lawenforcement forces’ capacity.

At the plenum on economic and trade issues, Vietnamese Deputy Prime MinisterVuong Dinh Hue pointed out the bright spots in economic cooperation andintegration in the region. Other participants said despite many difficulties,the Asia-Pacific region continued to have most dynamic development with highgrowth and economic connectivity.

Speakers at the event said APPF needs to bolster cooperation to step up freeand open trade and investment towards a free trade region, build acomprehensively interconnected Asia-Pacific and boost the development ofhigh-quality and resilient infrastructure.

They emphasised measures to improve the competitiveness and creativity ofmicro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), create favourableconditions for MSMEs to improve their financial and technological access andmanagement capacity and promote policies and legal frameworks for female-ledstart-ups and MSMEs.

They also underscored the need for stronger cooperation in sustainablemanagement and effective use of natural resources, including cross-border waterresources, land, forests and seas, thereby helping create sustainable food sources.It is also necessary to step up sustainable rural and urban development, builddisaster resilient communities, diversify the agricultural sector and increaseinvestment to raise agricultural productivity and quality.

At the plenary session on regional cooperation, participants voiced concernabout climate change and extreme weather phenomena, calling for morecooperation to cope with climate change and reduce disaster risks. They alsoproposed cooperation in culture and tourism be intensified.

They stressed the APPF’s role in promoting the partnership for sustainabledevelopment and inclusive growth in Asia-Pacific as APPF parliamentariansrepresent the interests of people in the region.

At the last plenum, regional legislators adopted the Hanoi Declaration, newoperation regulations of APPF and 14 resolutions.

The Hanoi Declaration “A New Vision for Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Partnership”reviews achievements and sets a new vision for APPF after 25 years ofdevelopment. It highlights plans for regional parliamentary ties and affirmsthat peace, stability and security are prerequisites for sustainabledevelopment.

Vietnam’s parliament shows dynamism atAPPF-26


This event showed the world Vietnam’s dynamic and active parliament, anintegrated and developing country, friendly Vietnamese people and an advancedculture deeply imbued with national identities.

It took place after Vietnam hosted the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)Year 2017 with the peak being the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week in Da Nang citylast November.

APPF-26 was a practical action by member parliaments in supporting the Da NangDeclaration “Creating New Dynamism, Fostering a Shared Future”, adopted at theAPEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Da Nang.

It also aimed to promote parliaments’ role in APEC cooperation and bring intoplay the outcomes of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week in the parliamentarychannel.

Talking about the relationship between APEC and APPF, Canadian Senator YuenPaul Woo said to boost connectivity between the two forums, there is a need todevelop a secretariat mechanism and each nation ought to put into actionsagendas adopted at these forums.

He said countries should learn from Vietnam’s example of closely organising thetwo events so that relevant points could be integrated together.

Participants in APPF-26 also appreciated the thorough preparations of theVietnamese NA, especially NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan who chaired the26th annual meeting.

At a press conference on January 20, Takuji Yanagimoto, Head of JapaneseDelegation to APPF-26 and Representative Honorary President of APPF, saidthanks to the strong leadership of Vietnam’s National Assembly and Governmentand all involved parties, the APPF-26 was a great success.

APPF-26 was held amid the 25th anniversary of the forum, a new milestone inAPPF’s history requiring agenda reforms and new visions for APPF.

Yanagimoto lauded Vietnam’s role in the successful APPF-26 and thanked thecountry for its close coordination in celebrations of the 25th anniversary.

He added he was impressed with Vietnam’s development after 13 years since heattended APPF-13 hosted by the country in 2005. He attributed the achievementto enormous efforts by the Government, NA and people of Vietnam.

IPU President Gabriela Cuevas Barron applauded Vietnam’s efforts in hostingAPPF-26 and expressed her hope that the country will hold many IPU activitiesin the future.

She added Vietnam is a leading country in economic growth and inclusivedevelopment, and it also has strong voice on free trade issues. The countryalso impressed member parliaments with its successful hosting of the 132nd IPUAssembly in March 2015.

Meanwhile,former IPU President Saber Chowdhury said Vietnam was the perfect venue formember parliaments to discuss the theme “Parliamentary partnership forpeace, innovation and sustainable development” as the Vietnamese NA haseffectively brought into play the role of representation and supervision.

Jonathan Young, Member of Parliament of New Zealand, said: “I think the waythat the forum has been organised and presented is absolutely excellent andcompletely world-class. I think it has given a great platform for the exchangeof ideas and meeting of people.”

“My congratulations to the NationalAssembly for hosting an excellent forum and also for the warm hospitality,” headded.-VNA