Report

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) held its 31st General Assembly from September 19 to 25, 2010, in Hanoi, Vietnam. The Canadian Parliament, which has observer status to AIPA, sent a joint delegation of the Canada-Japan Inter-Parliamentary Group (CJIG) and the Canada-China Legislative Association (CCLA). The CCLA was represented by its Co-Chair, the Honourable Joseph A. Day, Senator, and the CJIG was represented by its Co-Chair, the Honourable Bryon Wilfert, P.C., M.P. The Secretary to the delegation was Ms. Elizabeth Kingston.

Conference activities

The 31^st General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) was presided by H.E. Mr. Nguyen Phu Trong, President of AIPA and President of the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The Assembly was attended by delegations from the following member Parliaments: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Thailand and Vietnam. The Union of Myanmar attended as a special observer delegation. Observer delegations of Australia, Canada, China, the European Parliament, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the Russian Federation were also in attendance. The Republic of India, invited as a Guest of the Host country was welcomed as an observer country during the course of the proceedings.

The Canadian delegation attended the first plenary session which incorporated statements by the leaders of all member countries, followed by those from all observer countries. The statement by Canada was delivered by the Honourable Senator Joseph A. Day, Leader of the Canadian delegation. The speech highlights may be found in Appendix A of this report.

The conference held individual Committee sessions on the following subjects:

1)Political Matters

2)Economic Matters

3)Social Matters

4)Organizational Matters

Each observer nation’s delegation participated in a dialogue meeting with representatives of the ASEAN member nations. The Canadian delegation met with their counterparts from the AIPA nations on Wednesday, September 22, 2010. The agenda for the dialogue meeting was the following:

(a)       Regional and global security situation

(b)       Economic and Trade cooperation in the period of economic recovery for sustainable development

(c)        Environment pandemic diseases and natural disasters

(d)       Cooperation on education / training, science and technology

(e)       Parliament cooperation between AIPA members and observers

 

The dialogue was chaired by the Honourable Mr. Vu Tien Loc, Member of the delegation from Vietnam.. His report summarizing the discussion’s main points was presented at the Second Plenary Session and is attached as Appendix B to this report.

The Canadian delegation participated in the Second Plenary Session, which took place on the final day of the conference. During this session, all of the reports of the committees and observer dialogues were presented to and adopted by the plenary as well as the joint communiqué for the conference which is attached as Appendix C.

The 32th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) will be held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia from September 18 to 24, 2011.

Bilateral meeting:

The Canadian delegation to the 31st AIPA General Assembly also engaged in a bilateral meeting with the delegation from Malaysia.

Malaysia:

The Canadian delegation remarked that Malaysia is hosting the upcoming APPCED conference (Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Conference on Environment and Development) although dates had yet to be determined. It is expected that the dialogue would follow on the 14th conference in Palau on the issue of rising sea levels and its effect on the sovereignty of nations. Both sides agreed on the importance of the deepening friendship between Canada and Malaysia, bolstered by its common stance on Burma / Myanmar, growing trade relations, mutual efforts in combating international terrorism and support of the ASEAN Parliamentary Association. Moreover, it was noted that Canada is an important partner for Malaysia in its support of climate change, transportation and education. Specifically, the Malaysian delegation noted the significant investment made by Malaysia in improving its transportation infrastructure while implementing alternative energy means to fuel its transport sector.

Conclusion

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is one of the world’s fastest growing economic regions. Collectively, the economies of the ten ASEAN countries are approximately 10% larger than that of Canada and just slightly larger than that of Brazil. Moreover, the ASEAN nations have been identified as one Canada’s priority markets. Canada’s partnership with ASEAN nations dates back to 1977 and is committed to issues such as human rights, health, security, trade and investment. In July 2010, the adoption of a new 5-year Plan of Action did much to further cooperation on issues surrounding human rights, counterterrorism, and disaster management.  Observer participation by Canada at conferences of this nature are a tremendous opportunity for Canadian Parliamentarians to be apprised of significant issues affecting ASEAN nations and to continue in exercising support while demonstrating Canada’s commitment  to the prosperous development of this most significant region.

Respectfully submitted,