1 December 2016

The 9th plenary session of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly, which is held under the theme of “Promoting Peace and Sustainable Development in Asia” since 28th November 2016, was successfully concluded on 1 December 2016 evening by unanimously adopting Siem Reap Declaration, which consists of 19 points concerning the use of the parliamentary mechanism of the culture of dialogue for the settlement of issues occurring in the region, and resolves to fight against violence, the forced displacement of people and to speed up poverty reduction goal.

The closing ceremony of the 9th plenary session of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly, attended by parliamentary delegations from 23 countries in Asia, was held under the presidency of H.E. Dr. Nguon Nhel, Second Vice-President of the National Assembly and Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the 9th plenary session of the APA.

The plenary passed 20 out of 21 draft resolutions, which had been produced by its four Standing Committees: the Standing Committee on Political Affairs, the Standing Committee on Economic and Sustainable Development Affairs, the Standing Committee on Social and Cultural Affairs and the Standing Committee on Staff and Financial Regulations, and officially announced that Turkey is elected the next host of the 10th plenary session of the APA, which is scheduled to take place in 2017 to 2018.

Meanwhile, at the closing ceremony, H.E. Mr. HUN MANY, Member of Parliament of the Kingdom of Cambodia, got the floor to read alaud the Siem Reap Declaration, which is a reflection of the wills of all nations in Asia who participated in the 9th plenary session of the APA in the Kingdom of Cambodia. The 19-point declaration strongly condemns violence, terrorism and the forced displacement of people, and is strongly committed to speeding up poverty reduction in the region.

The Siem Reap Declaration aims to promote the culture of peace through using parliamentary mechanism in the settlement of some serious issues happening in Asia, which makes up 60% of the world population. The APA expresses its support to the implementation of the international laws in building and maintaining peace and prosperity in all Asian nations.

Addressing the closing ceremony, H.E. Dr. Nguon Nhel, Second Vice President of the National Assembly and the High Representative of Samdech Akka Moha Ponhea Chakrei HENG SAMRIN, President of the National Assembly of the Kingdom of Cambodia, stated that the 9th plenary session has put forward some practical ideas and views for our APA member parliaments in the region to jointly consider so as to synthesize our knowledge with the high sense of responsibility with the aim of mainstreaming those concepts into national legislation of respective countries.

He further stated that the Cambodian parliament expresses its strong support for the initiatives which aim to promote peaceful and non-violent settlements so as to avert all kinds of armed confrontations, especially to expand the role of parliaments in their efforts in seeking peace and expediting development in Asia.

Lastly, speaking at a press briefing following the closure of the plenary, H.E. Mr. Chheang Vun, head of the Cambodian parliamentary delegation attending the gathering, said the 9th APA plenary session lively discussed the theme of “Promoting peace and sustainable development in Asia”, stressing that some countries in the region are enjoying peace and development whereas others at the same time have suffered from violence, wars and human trafficking; therefore, parliaments in Asia have a very essential role to play in consolidating the culture of dialogue and promoting respect for the law towards addressing the common regional issues since the APA always wishes to see peoples in Southeast Asia living in peace.

The 9th plenary session of the APA brought together parliamentary delegates from 23 member parliaments in countries in Asia to meet in Cambodia’s cultural province of Siem Reap to discuss major problems facing the region.

Cambodia assumed the presidency of the APA in 2015, succeeding the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, who hosted the APA 7th plenary session in 2014 in Lahore city, Pakistan.

AAPP was established in 1999, and transformed into the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) in 2006 in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and this Asian parliamentary organization currently consists of 42 Member Parliaments, 16 observers and 10 partner organizations.

Article and photos by courtesy of the SNA Information Department