Inside ASEAN Column

Column: Inside ASEAN

Written by: ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly Group 

Bureau of Inter-Parliamentary Organizations, The Secretariat of the House of Representatives

Translated by: Bureau of Foreign Languages, The Secretariat of the Senate

The 39^th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly

3 – 7 September 2018

Singapore

The 39^th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) was held between 3 -7 September 2018 in Singapore with the topic “Towards a Resilient and Innovative Community”. The Thai delegation, led by Professor Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, President of the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), participated in the following functional meetings.

The Executive Committee Meeting

The Executive Committee meeting was held on Monday, 3 September 2018, during 20.30 – 22.55 hours. H.E. Mr. Tan Chuan-Jin, Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore as the President of AIPA, acted as the chairperson of the meeting. Professor Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, President of the NLA, acted as the Vice-Chairperson of the meeting. Hon. Ms. Tin Pei Ling, Member of the Parliament of Singapore, acted as the Rapporteur and Mr. Isra Sunthornvut, Secretary General of AIPA, acted as the Secretary.

The Executive Committee meeting comprises the Leaders Members of AIPA Member Countries, with not more than 3 persons per delegation attending the meeting. The NLA delegation attending the meeting includes (1) Professor Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, (2)
Mrs. Bilaibhan Sampatisiri and (3) Mr. Anusart Suwanmongkol. The important missions of the Executive Committee meeting include approving important documents such as the Programme of Activities, agenda and items of the meeting to be proposed to the General Assembly of the AIPA.

The General Assembly of the AIPA (First Plenary Session)

The NLA delegation, led by Professor Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, President of the NLA, attended the Opening Ceremony of the 39^th General Assembly on 4 September 2018 during 09.45 – 11.00 hours and the First Plenary Session during 11.00 – 13.00 hours and 14.00 – 17.00 hours.

The important missions during the session include Statements addressed by the Leaders of delegations of AIPA Member Parliaments and Observer Parliaments that have attended the session. The President of the NLA addressed 3 main matters during his statement. Firstly, the NLA emphasizes AIPA as a regional stage for cooperation among parliaments, which give opportunities to every Member of Parliament to discuss, share and exchange their practices for mutual benefit. Secondly, the NLA anticipates AIPA to have a flexible and creative stance to combat transnational crime such as terrorism, cybercrime, human trafficking and effects from natural disasters. Examples of related incidents that just happened include the youth football team that was trapped in the Tam Luang in Chiang Rai Province, a dam collapsed in Attapeu Province, the Lao People's Democratic Republic and the earthquake that occurred at the Lombok Island, the Republic of Indonesia. Finally, the NLA hopes AIPA will have a greater role to strengthen legislative connectivity by drafting a Resolution on the Collection and Exchange of Information on Laws of ASEAN which will help strengthen the role of AIPA on the aforesaid matter.

The Meeting of Women Parliamentarians of AIPA  

The NLA delegation, consisting of (1) Mrs. Bilaibhan Sampatisiri, (2) Mrs. Saowanee Suwannacheep and (3) Khunying Songsuda Yodmani, attended the Women Parliamentarians of AIPA Meeting on Monday 4 September 2018 during 14.00 – 17.00 hours. The committee members approved 2 draft resolutions with a few amendments, comprising (1) Draft Resolution on Promoting Women’s Entrepreneurship for Development and (2) Draft Resolution on Empowering Women in ASEAN to Harness the Potential of Industrial Revolution 4.0.

The Meeting of Committee on Political Matters

The NLA delegation, consisting of (1) Assoc. Prof. Taweesak Suthakavatin, (2) Adm. Saksith Cherdboonmuang, (3) Adm. Krisda Charoenpanich and (4) Mr. Thani Onlahiad, attend the Committee on Political Matters meeting on Tuesday 5 September 2018 during 09.00 – 12.00 and 15.30 – 17.10 hours. The Committee discussed various items in accordance with the agenda of the meeting, such as maritime security, strengthening resilience against terrorism and exchange of information on Laws of ASEAN. No resolution was adopted by the Committee on Political Matters during this General Assembly of the AIPA due to the Committee was not able to have a consensus regarding the draft resolution on the humanitarian situation in Myanmar in the end.

The Meeting of Committee on Economic Matters

The NLA delegation, consisting of (1) Mrs. Saowanee Suwannacheep, (2) Miss Orajit Singkalavanich and (3) Assoc. Prof. Sarana Boonbaichaiyapruck, attended the Committee on Economic Matters meeting on Tuesday 5 September 2018 during 09.00 – 12.00 hours. The Committee discussed and approved 5 draft resolutions with a few amendments, comprising
(1) Draft Resolution on Strengthening Cooperation to Promote Cross-Border Data Flows in ASEAN, (2) Draft Resolution on Promoting Innovation and e-Commerce in ASEAN, (3) Draft Resolution on Deepening Regional Economic Integration in ASEAN, (4) Draft Resolution on Good Regulatory Practices in the ASEAN Economic Integration and (5) Draft Resolution Regional Efforts to Address the Impact of Global Trade Tension between Economic Powerhouses.

The Meeting of Committee on Social Matters

The NLA delegation, consisting of (1) ACM Chuchart Boonchai, (2) Mr. Kittisak Rattanaraha (3) Khunying Songsuda Yodmani and (4) Mr. Thamrong Dasananjali, attended the Committee on Social Affairs meeting on Tuesday 5 September 2018 during 09.00 – 12.00 hours. The meeting discussed and approved 4 documents with few amendments, comprising (1) Report of the 1^st AIPACODD Meeting and the Resolutions on Securing a Drug-Free ASEAN Community for Future Generations and the Terms of Reference for AIPACODD, (2) Draft Resolution on Promoting Digital Literacy and Combating Fake News, (3) Draft Resolution on Support for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) and (4) Draft Resolution on Environmental Sustainability and Sustainable Urban Ecosystems.

The Meeting of Committee on Organizational Matters

The NLA delegation, consisting of (1) Mr. Anusart Suwanmongkol, (2) ACM Chanat Ratana-ubol and (3) Mrs. Kanchanaratt Leevirojana, attended the Committee on Organizational Matters meeting on Tuesday 5 September 2018 during 09.00 – 12.00 hours. The Committee discussed and approved 14 draft resolutions. However, there are still 4 draft resolutions left to be approved, comprising (1) Draft Resolution on Guidelines of AIPA Engagement with Guests, Observers and Dialogue Partners, (2) Draft Resolution on Accrediting the Parliament of the Kingdom of Norway as Observer of AIPA, (3) Draft Resolution on Accrediting the Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan as Observer of AIPA and (4) Draft Resolution on Accrediting the Parliament of the Republic of Georgia as Observer of AIPA. The Committee agreed for these draft resolutions to be deferred to an Ad-hoc Working Group comprising of nominees from each AIPA Member Parliament. The AIPA Secretariat will report further details to the President of AIPA.

For the Draft Resolution on the Amendment to the Statutes of AIPA, which has not been submitted within the timeline prescribed in the Statutes of AIPA, the delegation of
the Republic of Indonesia agreed to resubmit the aforesaid draft resolution at the conclusion of this General Assembly. Therefore, the Committee agreed by consensus to defer the discussion on this draft resolution to the next meeting in Thailand.

Dialogue Sessions with Observer Parliaments

The NLA delegation attended the meeting between the delegation of AIPA Members and each representatives of Observer Parliaments on Tuesday 5 September 2018 during
14.00 – 17.00 hours on “Exchanging Experiences on Combating Climate Change and Active Aging”. On this occasion, each session broadly discussed the aforesaid topic under the context of the relations between AIPA Members and Observer Parliaments. Furthermore, each session emphasized how every legislative branch should have good practices to counter challenges of the two aforesaid matters.

The Meeting of Committee on the Joint Communique  

The NLA delegation, consisting of (1) Mrs. Bilaibhan Sampatisiri, (2) Mrs. Kanchanaratt Leevirojana and (3) Mr. Anusart Suwanmongkol, attended the Committee on Joint Communique meeting of the 39^th AIPA General Assembly on Tuesday 5 September 2018 during 15.30 – 17.30 hours[1]. Hon. Mr. Charles Chong, Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore, chaired the meeting and Hon. Mr. Vikram Nair, Member of Parliament of Singapore, was the Rapporteur. In this occasion, the Committee adopted the draft joint communique proposed by the secretary of the meeting with a few amendments. The NLA delegation did not suggest any amendment as the delegation agreed upon matters related to the delegation written in report.

The General Assembly of the AIPA (Second Plenary Session)

The NLA delegation, led by Professor Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, President of the NLA, attended the Second Plenary Session of the 39^th General Assembly of the AIPA on 6 September 2018 during 10.00 – 10.45 hours and the Closing Ceremony during 10.45 – 11.15 hours. H.E. Mr. Tan Chuan-Jin, Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore, as the President of AIPA, chaired the session.

The important missions of the meeting include (1) to listen and adopt report and resolutions of each committee, (2) to confer AIPA Distinguished Service Award to Hon. Dr. Nurhayati Ali Assegaf Members of Parliament of the Republic of Indonesia and Mr. Anusart Suwanmongkol NLA Member and (3) to recognize the transfer of Office of the AIPA President to the President of the NLA. On this occasion, the General Assembly adopted resolutions of the committees and also conferred AIPA Distinguished Service Award to both Members who have been nominated.

In the occasion of being Incoming President of AIPA, the President of the NLA delivered an acceptance speech regarding Thai Parliament’s intention to cooperate with AIPA Member Parliaments to nurture inter-parliamentary partnership for sustainability which also encompasses the notion of resilience and innovation advocated by the General Assembly, delivered his vision for being Incoming President of AIPA highlighted parliament’s active roles being an indispensable factor for regional sustainability and emphasized the ASEAN Community to be based on rules-based, people-oriented and people-centred. Furthermore, the Incoming President of AIPA touched upon items such as connectivity and future orientation. To conclude, the President of the NLA mentioned the schedule of future conferences that will be hosted by the Thai Parliament under the AIPA framework, comprising (1) the 2^nd AIPACODD Conference that will be held on March 2019 in Chiang Mai and (2) the 40^th General Assembly of the AIPA that will be held on the last week of August 2019 in Bangkok.

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