National Assembly president Heng Samrin during the virtual 42nd AIPA general assembly on Wednesday. NA
The National Assembly (NA) will host the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) with direct participation from the AIPA members when it becomes the rotational chair next year.
The AIPA was mentioned on August 25 by NA president Heng Samrin in remarks made while attending the 42nd AIPA general assembly, which was held virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
During the assembly, Pehin Dato Abdul Rahman Taib, speaker of the legislative council of Brunei, presented a gavel to the Cambodian embassy which is used ceremonially by the presiding officer under parliamentary procedure to signify the opening and closing of official business.
The NA will take over the rotational chair in 2022 from Brunei’s parliament.
According to Samrin, the 43rd AIPA general assembly will be hosted in September 2022.
He said while it was still too early to predict what will be happening a year from now with the pandemic, Cambodia is planning to host the AIPA assembly with direct participation and meetings held in-person.
“The Cambodian parliament looks forward to working closely with the AIPA secretariat as well as the AIPA membership parliamentarians and partner countries to further strengthen our good work and ensure that the common visions and aspirations of ASEAN are achieved, especially an ASEAN community focused mainly on interactions between our peoples,” he said.
NA member Chheang Vun told reporters after the closing of the assembly that Cambodia was proud to be hosting next year’s 43rd AIPA general assembly chaired by Samrin.
He said if the world can contain Covid-19 next year, then Cambodia would be able to hold the conference in-person but the relevant authorities will assess the situation next year on an ongoing basis to ensure that it is safe to do so.
“The AIPA is very important and hosting the general assembly will be a proud moment for Cambodia. If we do not attend, we will be as lonely as Myanmar this year. They could not join us this year because their parliament has been dissolved, which is yet another reason why it is important that we hold these meetings and Cambodia will be prepared to lead,” Vun said.
He noted that the NA has yet to decide on an agenda for the 43rd AIPA general assembly because it’s over a year from now and meetings and discussions still need to take place.
