Parliamentary cooperation is key to realizing ASEAN Community Vision

He noted that in nearly 60 years of formation and development, ASEAN has achieved many milestones in making Southeast Asia a region of peace, prosperity, and stability. It has become a shining example of growth and global integration, serving as a positive factor in shaping the regional structure and enhancing connectivity and mutual interests among nations, especially in promoting institutional and policy connectivity.

Parliamentary cooperation will be a driving force in building an ASEAN Community based on rules, reflecting the voices and aspirations of the people, and placing citizens at the center of all development policies, he said, adding this approach will lead to comprehensive and profound changes for both the community and each member state.

According to the Vietnamese legislator, ASEAN is currently at a crucial juncture in its community-building process, having largely completed the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and transitioning to the ASEAN Community Vision 2045. This is the time to implement significant transformations for a resilient, dynamic, and cohesive ASEAN that serves as a focal point for growth.

In this context, he said the National Assembly of Vietnam believes that AIPA, alongside ASEAN, must uphold the spirit of solidarity and unity, and enhance the sense of responsibility to contribute to collective efforts in effectively addressing challenges that threaten peace, security, and stability in the region, making effective and comprehensive contributions to the process of building the ASEAN Community.

With the collective efforts of all ASEAN countries, he expressed his belief that ASEAN will continue to strengthen its resilience against the difficulties and challenges of the times.

To realize the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, Man urged AIPA and its members to make greater efforts alongside ASEAN to enhance solidarity, cooperation, and unity in diversity. He emphasized the importance of upholding ASEAN’s spirit of independence, resilience, and strategic autonomy, while also promoting ASEAN’s central role.

He called for respect for differences, ensuring harmonious interests, and maintaining ASEAN’s principled stance. He also highlighted the need to adhere to ASEAN’s principles and codes of conduct, as well as to comply with international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

At the same time, he emphasized the need to review and assess the implementation of the ASEAN Community 2025 Blueprints, which outline cooperation strategies up to 2045. He called for the enhancement of harmonious, sustainable, inclusive development that leaves no one behind, with appropriate priority given to sub-regional cooperation and bridging development gaps.

AIPA should improve the effectiveness of legislative cooperation and strengthen parliamentary diplomacy, while supporting and providing more effective assistance to governments with feasible solutions to successfully achieve ASEAN’s goals in enhancing connectivity and comprehensive growth, he suggested.

Man urged countries to promote cooperation in disaster prevention, climate change response, and ensure harmony between development and environmental protection, as well as food and water security.

In his views, parliaments should encourage digital transformation, green transition, circular economy, and digital economy; promote innovation and entrepreneurship to create new growth drivers while rejuvenating existing growth mechanisms.

Development should center on people as the core subjects and resources, and as the ultimate goal of progress, he stated.

He expressed confidence that, under the leadership of the Lao National Assembly and AIPA 45 President, along with the spirit of solidarity, cooperation, and active contributions from member parliaments, the AIPA-45 General Assembly would achieve substantial results.

During discussions, delegates highly appreciated the significance of the AIPA-45 theme of “The Role of Parliaments in Enhancing Connectivity and Inclusive Growth of ASEAN,” which is closely linked to the region’s collective efforts in promoting connectivity and resilience.

In a regional and global environment marked by volatility and unpredictability, they emphasized the necessity of enhancing solidarity and unity, reaffirming ASEAN’s central role, promoting multilateralism, and improving the effectiveness of ASEAN-led mechanisms to engage partners in regional cooperation. This should be done in a spirit of responsibility and friendship, allowing ASEAN to address challenges and strengthen an open, transparent, and inclusive regional structure with ASEAN at its core.

The delegates stressed the need to enhance connectivity in a comprehensive and sustainable manner across all aspects, including infrastructure, institutions, digitalization, and human resources. In these collective efforts, parliamentary cooperation plays a crucial role in translating ASEAN commitments into specific actions, promoting the harmonization of institutions and policies, and solidifying the legal framework that supports regional connectivity and integration. This, they said, in turn facilitates cooperation in trade, investment, transportation, energy, and people-to-people exchanges, contributing to inclusive and equitable growth that leaves no one behind.

Emphasizing that AIPA represents the voice and interests of the people, the delegates agreed to increase AIPA’s role as a bridge that enables citizens to engage more effectively in decision-making, ensuring that ASEAN’s strategies and cooperation programs yield tangible benefits for all.