Pattaya To Host 30th Aipa Assembly At Evacuated Asean Summit Site

[george]

Pattaya to host 30th AIPA assembly at evacuated Asean summit site

By John Le Fevre

PATTAYA (thaivisa.com): -- Immediately following the 42nd Asean summit in Phuket, some 300 representatives and delegates will gather in Pattaya for the 30th General Assembly of the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (Aipa).

To be held at the same venue that the current Asean Summit was urgently evacuated from last Aril, the Aipa meeting will admit the Legislative Council of Brunei Darussalam as a full member, bringing the number of member countries to nine.

Established on September 2, 1977, Aipa was formerly known as the Asian Inter-Parliamentary Organization (AIPO) and formed to promote greater participation by the people of Asean in achieving their goals and aspirations.

Chai Chidchob, president of the Thai national assembly and president of Aipa, said the association was ready to cooperate with Asean in achieving the goal of an Asean Community by 2015.

Aipa is the only regional inter-parliamentary forum for legislators from Asean to exchange views and information and deal with regional issues and legislative work, and Thailand Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said it had played a crucial role in offering suggestions on the Asean Charter and the establishment of an Asean human rights body.

According Mr Abhisit, who is also the current chair of Asean, Aipa could play a greater role in nurturing a sense of “Asean Identity” and serving as a goodwill ambassador in the region.

The Aipa assembly will be held at the Royal Cliff Beach Resort, Pattaya, from August 2 to 8, and also include dialogue partner representatives from nine countries and one organization.

-- thaivisa.com 2009-07-24