 National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan addresses the 27th annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF-27) in Siem Reap, Cambodia. |
Madam Ngan was speaking at the 27th annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF-27) which opened on Tuesday in Siem Reap, Cambodia, under the theme “Strengthening parliamentary partnership for peace, security, and sustainable development”.
She hailed the success of the last APPF meeting in Vietnam with the adoption of the Hanoi Declaration, marking the forum’s 25 years of development and opening up a new vision for the Asia-Pacific parliamentary partnership until 2030.
“Vietnam’s National Assembly applauds the significance of this year’s theme, which is in accordance with current development trends in Asia Pacific and the world. Consistently pursuing the goals of independence, self-reliance, dialogue, and cooperation in line with international law and the UN Charter is a basic principle to maintain peace, security and development. More importantly, sustainable development goals should be the guiding star for countries’ development policies to best ensure the interests of the people that we represent,” Ms. Ngan said.
In his welcoming message, Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni called on countries to unite to reshape relations in the Asia-Pacific region to promote peace, freedom, democracy, and prosperity, noting that multilateral relations are being threatened by protectionism.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen suggested the forum focus on discussing the roles of the UN and ASEAN in food security, urging countries to settle disputes in a peaceful manner and in accordance with international law to ensure peace and prosperity in each nation.