The General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) was held virtually from 8 to 10 September 2020 and hosted by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, even amidst the global pandemic of COVID-19.
This year, once again, PIC was invited to attend the General Assembly. PIC’s delegation was composed of two members, Mr. Dararith KIM-YEAT, Executive Director, and Mrs. KONG Kunthea, Parliamentary Outreach Manager.
The AIPA Member Parliaments adopted to renew the MoU between AIPA and PIC on “Capacity development program for staff of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly Member Parliaments” during the 40th General Assembly of AIPA in Bangkok.
Fitting well with the theme of this year’s General Assembly, the PIC capacity building program on parliamentary diplomacy, delivered to members of staff from participating AIPA Member Parliaments, covered subjects ranging from transnational issues, international law and international communication, to practical techniques used to support parliamentary diplomacy.
As indicated in the statement from the President of the House of Representatives of Morocco, in this critical period, “parliamentary diplomacy has become an essential element of the international cooperation”.