Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung expressed his hope at an informal meeting between ASEAN leaders and AIPA representatives held shortly after the opening of the 15^th ASEAN summit in Hua Hin, Thailand, on October 23. 

He spoke highly of the fruitful cooperation between legislative bodies of ASEAN member countries and the effective operation of AIPA in promoting regional cooperation and development.

As ASEAN enters a new period of cooperation based on its historic charter, AIPA and its members play an important role in meeting the goal of building an ASEAN Community by 2015, said Mr Dung.

Tong Thi Phong, Vice Chairwoman of the Vietnam National Assembly, noted that the meeting offered a good chance for the two organisations to exchange views and reach a consensus on regional issues. She proposed increasing regular contact between AIPA members and between AIPA and ASEAN to put forward legislative initiatives to harmonise the legal systems in ASEAN countries.

In an informal meeting with representatives of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ABAC), Mr Dung stressed that the ASEAN Economic Community will play an important role in maximizing the benefits of the economic integration process and help ASEAN member countries overcome the challenges and difficulties of the global financial crisis.

He promised that as the ASEAN president in 2010, Vietnam will promote regular dialogues between the governments and the business communities and that it will work closely with ABAC to organise an ASEAN Investment and Business Summit next year.

While attending an informal meeting with representatives of the youth and civil organisations, Mr Dung said that ASEAN should encourage people from all social sections to take part in its policymaking process. He also proposed that the youth work harder towards the goal of building an ASEAN Community based on three pillars: security-politics, economics, and culture-social affairs.