The Unofficial Meeting of Young Parliamentarians of ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) was held on September 8 within the framework of the virtual 41st AIPA General Assembly (AIPA-41) from September 8 to 10.

Permanent Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly (NA) of Vietnam Tong Thi Phong
chairs the Unofficial Meeting of Young Parliamentarians of ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary
Assembly (AIPA). (Photo: AIPA)

Addressing the event, Permanent Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly (NA) of Vietnam Tong Thi Phong highlighted the important role of young parliamentarians in conveying desires and ideas of young voters in contributing to AIPA and its member parliaments.

She said young parliamentarians of AIPA are an important factor to connect youngsters and promote their participation in building the ASEAN Community and realising goals of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 through the ASEAN Work Plan on Youth for 2016-2020 and the following years.

Phong voiced her expectation that the meeting of young parliamentarians of AIPA would be organized on an annual basis within the framework of AIPA General Assembly, saying that the annual meeting would create a forum for young parliaments of AIPA to share experience in doing parliamentary works, contributing to building and developing the ASEAN Community.

Chairman of the Group of Young Deputies in the Vietnamese NA Le Quoc Phong said young people are an important resource for socio-economic development of ASEAN member countries as well as for the continual growth of ASEAN Community. He hailed the increasingly active participation of young parliamentarians in AIPA in general and its member parliaments in particular.

During the event, participants exchanged experiences in promoting the participation of young parliamentarians to building the ASEAN Community in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts on all spheres of socio-economic life in ASEAN member countries.

Young parliamentarians taking part in the meeting approved a draft Resolution on participation of young AIPA parliamentarians in building the ASEAN Community. The final resolution is expected to be approved by AIPA 41 by September 10.

This is the first time ever such a meeting of young parliamentarians of AIPA has been organised. The idea of organising such meeting was initiated by Vietnamese NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan when she assumed the role of AIPA 41 Chair. It had been reiterated in the ASEAN Leaders' Interface with Representatives of AIPA and the ASEAN Leaders’ Interface with Representatives of ASEAN Youth within the 36th ASEAN Summit.