The two-day meeting, which opened in Tokyo on February 22 under the theme "population and sustainable development in the next 25 years", drew the participation of parliamentarians from more than 20 countries and representatives of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD).

Delegates to the meeting are discussing five topics namely aging population issues, infectious diseases, mankind future, positive and negative effects of international migration, and parliamentarians’ activities related to population and development.

CSA Chairwoman Thu, who is also AFPPD Vice President, said that Vietnam was one of the first countries in the region to join the meeting. The country has recorded considerable population achievements such as an average woman’s birth rate reduced to 2.1 from 3.8 previously and a remarkable increase in life expectancy.