Photo: assembly.go.kr
The 29th Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF29), which the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea hosted for the second time in 23 years, took place in Seoul, Korea, on December 13-15. It was initially set to be held in-person (with the possibility of remote participation), but was held virtually after rising concerns on the spread of Omicron coronavirus variant. Participants include 211 parliamentary delegates from 22 countries, which are Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Fiji, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Mongolia, New Zealand, Peru, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Under the main theme “The Role of Parliaments in Strengthening Resilience in the Post-COVID-19 Era,” the forum consisted of the Women Parliamentarians Meeting and four Plenary Sessions. The Working Groups and the Drafting Committee, ten online meetings in total, were held to draft and review 13 resolutions prior to the Plenary Sessions.
In the inaugural ceremony, Park Byeong-seug, Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea and the Chair of APPF29, invited the APPF member countries to “strengthen solidarity in order to build consensus on the gravity and urgency of contemporary challenges and join efforts toward an inclusive recovery.” In the Women Parliamentarians Meeting, members emphasized the importance of enforcing policies to eliminate aggravated violence against women during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the First Plenary Session, the need for parliamentary diplomacy and leadership to maintain peace and security, fight against trasnational challenges, and strengthen cooperation for human security, permanent peace regime on the Korean Peninsula, and counter-terrorism, was reaffirmed. In the Second Plenary Session, members discussed how to create conditions and systems for multilateral cooperation to realize Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), promote digital economy, and strengthen policy support for vulnerable groups. Lastly, in the Third Plenary Session, fair access to vaccines and treatments amid COVID-19 crisis, as well as efforts to maintain regional cooperation on a climate change response and to promote understanding on cultural diversity, was encouraged.
During the Final Plenary Session, participants adopted 13 resolutions and the Joint Communiqué. The invitation of Thailand to host the next APPF Annual Meeting in 2022 and the full membership of Brunei Darussalam were also formally approved.
APPF is the world’s largest body for parliamentary cooperation, comprising 27 member countries in the Asia-Pacific region; it is the parliamentary equivalent of APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation).
For more information, please visit www.appf29.org.
[Sources]
The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea. (2021, December 16). [APPF29] 29th Annual Meeting of Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum Closes. https://korea.assembly.go.kr:447/wha/new2_read.jsp
The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea. (2021, December 14). [APPF29] On first day of 29th APPF Annual Meeting gender-sensitive post-Covid-19 strategies sought. https://korea.assembly.go.kr:447/wha/new2_read.jsp
The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea. (2021, December 14). [APPF29] Parliaments 28 Asia-Pacific Nations to Bolster Inclusion and Solidarity amid COVID-19 Pandemic. https://korea.assembly.go.kr:447/wha/pre_read.jsp
BY MSEAP Cyber Secretariat (mseap@assembly.go.kr) |