Vietnam’s National Assembly, along with the parliaments of Japan and New Zealand, is elected to join the new Executive Committee of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF) for a four-year tenure.

Overview of the first plenary session. Photo: VNA

The voting was carried out during the plenary session of the APPF-29 held today [December 15] in South Korea under the chair of the Speaker of the host country’s National Assembly Park Byeong-Seug.

During the session, members approved a declaration reaffirming their determination to strengthen multilateral parliamentary partnership for recovery in the post-pandemic period.

South Korea also handed over the APPF Chairmanship for the National Assembly of Thailand, which also serve as the host of the upcoming APPF-30 in 2022.

During a discussion session held on the same day, delegates singled out unprecedented challenges that the world is facing, including the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change, which require greater efforts from APPF members to address sustainable development.

This is particularly significant given the fact that the Asia-Pacific is among the most vulnerable regions to natural disasters. It is estimated that half of the population in the region, or 2.4 billion people, are living in coastal areas prone to severe impacts from climate change.

In this context, the Covid-19 pandemic has further exposed the vulnerability and existing social inequality, in turn putting the necessity for regional countries to promote inclusive, fair, and sustainable socio-economic development.

Permanent member of the Vietnamese National Assembly’s Committee for External Relations Le Thu Ha highlighted the efforts of parliaments in working against climate change that is in line with commitments set by countries in COP26.

“Parliaments as representative of the people hold the key to ensure the realization of the goals set in the Paris and Glasgow agreements,” Ha said.

In the case of Vietnam, a country that has faced severe impacts from climate change and rising sea levels, Ha said the National Assembly has approved several laws to aid the country’s efforts against climate change.

The APPF, consisting of 27 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, aims to expand cooperation between participants in the interests of peace and stability, promoting trade and investment, developing regional cooperation in such areas as environmental protection, countering transnational crime, and terrorism, cultural and academic exchanges.