PHOTO: VNA
From January 14 to 17, 2019, leaders of parliaments from 21 countries met in Siem Reap, Cambodia for the 27th annual meeting of the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF-27). This year’s theme was “strengthening parliamentary partnership for peace, security and sustainable development”.
The forum opened with the Cambodian National Assembly President Samdech Heng Samrin and Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen on Tuesday, bringing together 331 delegates from 21 countries to discuss economic and trade matters, political and security issues, and regional cooperation in the Asia-Pacific.
In economic and trade matters, the delegates highlighted the need to build strong institutions to promote trade and investment for sustainable and inclusive growth, and reiterated their commitment to fight against protectionism to achieve the common goal of free trade and investment in the region. They also agreed on increased access to finance, science, technology and innovation for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and called for regional cooperation to encourage investment in education.
In political and security field, delegates suggested mechanisms to strengthen mutual trust for peace and security, promote collective efforts to resolve the root causes of terrorism, and advance cooperation on cyber security and digital literacy. The participants noted the positive developments in the Korean Peninsula and expressed a desire for a diplomatic solution of the remaining issues.
On regional cooperation in Asia-Pacific, delegates proposed to build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation to mitigate and adapt to climate change. They underscored their commitment to the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism. They also urged the APPF member countries to foster global and regional cooperation through mechanisms such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Belt and Road Initiative, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and the Asian Cultural Council (ACC).
The meeting adopted 14 resolutions on the basis of 43 draft resolutions proposed by member countries, culminating in the Siem Reap 2019 Joint Declaration.
Australia will host the 28th meeting of APPF in 2020.
BY: MSEAP Cyber Secretariat (mseap@assembly.go.kr) |
