(VOVworld) – The first plenary session of the 35^th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-parliamentary Association (AIPA) was held following the opening ceremony. Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung delivered a speech to show support for the Assembly’s agenda and the theme of Strengthening Parliamentary Cooperation in ASEAN Community Building.

He said that AIPA members were being offered big opportunities for peace, cooperation and development, adding that complicated global economic, security and political developments, particularly recent East Sea issues, required those parties involved to respect international law, settle disputes by peaceful measures, and act with caution and responsibility. Vietnam called on ASEAN to use existing tools and mechanisms to boost the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) toward adopting a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) for peace, stability and development. He praised cooperation between AIPA and ASEAN in supporting governments of member countries to build an ASEAN Community. He said that AIPA needed to facilitate ASEAN member countries’ cooperation in legislation and supervision: “In the coming years, AIPA needs to enhance its role in persuading member states to implement regional commitments, create favorable conditions for ASEAN and its member countries to implement the post-2015 ASEAN vision, help the ASEAN Community to develop for the people’s sake, and encourage people’s active participation in this process. AIPA should recommend ASEAN expand its cooperative mechanisms within the grouping and with its partners to deal in a timely manner with non-traditional challenges concerning the environment, water resources, climate change, epidemics, natural disasters, food, energy and maritime security.”

National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung said Vietnam would continue to reform and develop its cooperation with other countries toward building an ASEAN Community by 2015 and realizing the post-2015 ASEAN vision. He added that Vietnam’s National Assembly was committed to contributing to joint efforts to enhance AIPA’s role in building and developing an ASEAN Community for peace, stability, cooperation, and development.